13 When King Nebuchadnezzar heard this, he was very angry. He told his servants to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to him. So they brought those men to stand in front of the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, is it true that you do not give honour to my gods? And you do not worship the gold statue that I have built? 15 Next time you hear the sound of the special music, you must obey my rule. You must bend down and you must worship the statue that I have built. If you do not worship the statue, my servants will throw you immediately into the middle of a very hot fire. There is no god who can save you from my power.’
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered the king, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to say anything to show you that we are not guilty. 17 We serve a great God. If you throw us into the very hot fire, he is able to keep us safe. Yes, sir, he will keep us safe from your power too. 18 But even if he does not save us, we still would not serve your gods. And we will not worship the gold statue that you have built. We want you to understand that very clearly, sir.’
