Daniel 3:18

Faith Courage and strength Faithfulness and loyalty Obedience

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

¹⁷ If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

¹⁹ Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.

²⁰ And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”
KJV: But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
WEB: But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
ASV: But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
DARBY: But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image that thou hast set up.
BLB: But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that to your gods we are not serving, and to the image of gold that you have set up we will not give homage.”

ÅB: Men hvis ikke, da skal du vite, konge, at vi ikke vil dyrke dine guder eller tilbe det gullbilde du har stilt opp.
OTB: Men selv om han ikke gjør det, skal du vite, konge, at vi ikke vil tjene dine guder eller tilbe gullbildet du har satt opp."
B1930: Men hvis ikke, da skal du vite, konge, at vi ikke vil dyrke dine guder eller tilbede det gullbillede du har stilt op.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Acts 5:29–32
Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Read in context
Matthew 10:39
He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Read in context
Revelation 2:10–11
Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Read in context
Matthew 10:32–33
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
Read in context
Luke 12:3–9
Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
Read in context
Revelation 12:11
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Read in context
Acts 4:10–13
Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
Read in context
Joshua 24:15
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Read in context