The king punishes Daniel's three friends
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was even more angry with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. His face became red. He said to his servants, ‘Make the fire in the oven seven times hotter than usual.’ 20 He told the strongest men in his army, ‘Tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Then throw them into the very hot fire!’
21 So the soldiers tied up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego with ropes. They were still wearing their coats, their hats and their other clothes when the soldiers took hold of them. The soldiers threw them into the middle of the hot fire with all their clothes on. 22 The soldiers needed to obey the king in a hurry. The fire was very hot. As a result, flames from the fire killed the men who threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into it. 23 So the three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, fell into the middle of the hot fire. The ropes still held them very strongly.
24 What King Nebuchadnezzar saw next surprised him very much. He jumped up and he shouted to his officers, ‘We tied up three men and we threw them into the fire. Isn't that right?’ The officers answered the king, ‘Yes, sir, we certainly did that.’ 25 The king said, ‘But I see four men walking about in the fire! No ropes are holding them and the fire has not hurt them. The fourth man seems like a son of the gods.’
26 King Nebuchadnezzar went near to the door of the oven where the very hot fire was. He shouted aloud to the men inside, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, I see that you are servants of the powerful God who rules over everything. Now come out here!’
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire. 27 Then the king's officers, his wise men and the government rulers and leaders came near to the three men. They saw that the fire had not hurt Shadrach, Meshach or Abednego. The fire had not even burnt their hair or their clothes. They did not even have any smell from the fire.
