he asked them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden statue that I erected? I now give you one more chance. When you hear the ram’s horn and the music of the flute, the lyre, the ten-stringed harp, the triangular harp, the drums, and all the other instruments, you will bow down to the ground and worship the golden statue I have made. But if you refuse to worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a white-hot fiery furnace. So now, who is the god that can save you from my power?”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar: “We have no need to offer you a defense in this matter. If the God we serve truly exists, then he will save us from death at your hand, O king. So, if you throw us into the fiery furnace, our God is able to save us. But even if he does not save us, you can be sure, O king, that we would not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have erected.”
Upon hearing this, Nebuchadnezzar was filled with anger, and his face was distorted with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered his men to heat the fiery furnace seven times hotter than it usually was. He also commanded some of his mighty men to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the white-hot furnace. Immediately, they tied up the three men while they still had on all their clothes—their trousers, shirts, and turbans—and then threw them into the white-hot furnace. But because the king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so overheated, the raging flames burned up the men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fire.