The king's statue
1 King Nebuchadnezzar caused his workers to make a gold statue. It was 30 metres high and 3 metres wide. He built it on the flat land called Dura, in the Babylon region. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent a message to all his government officers. He told them to meet together in the place where the statue was. He wanted them to see that he had built a great statue. 3 So all the officers came. Those were the rulers, the judges, the wise people, and all the leaders in the different regions of the Babylon nation. They all came together to give honour to the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had built.
4 Then an officer shouted aloud, ‘Listen to me, you people from every country and nation, who speak different languages! The king makes this command: 5 Listen for the sound of music from trumpets, flutes, lyres, harps or any other kind of music. When you hear the music, you must bend down low towards the ground. You must worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has built. 6 The king will punish anyone who does not do that. His soldiers will throw them immediately into a very hot fire.’
7 So, when all the people heard the different kinds of music, they obeyed. The people from every country and nation, who spoke different languages all bent down low. They worshipped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had built.
