Daniel 3

1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits*3:1 A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters. and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the local governors, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the local governors, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

4 Then the herald cried aloud, "To you it is commanded, peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. 6 Whoever doesn’t fall down and worship shall be cast into the middle of a burning fiery furnace the same hour."

7 Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and brought accusation against the Jews. 9 They answered Nebuchadnezzar the king, "O king, live for ever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music shall fall down and worship the golden image; 11 and whoever doesn’t fall down and worship shall be cast into the middle of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not respected you. They don’t serve your gods, and don’t worship the golden image which you have set up."

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. Then these men were brought before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods and you don’t worship the golden image which I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, good; but if you don’t worship, you shall be cast the same hour into the middle of a burning fiery furnace. Who is that god who will deliver you out of my hands?"

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, "Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 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."

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his appearance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 He commanded certain mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their pants, their tunics, and their mantles, and their other clothes, and were cast into the middle of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the middle of the burning fiery furnace.

24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished and rose up in haste. He spoke and said to his counselors, "Didn’t we cast three men bound into the middle of the fire?"

They answered the king, "True, O king."

25 He answered, "Look, I see four men loose, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are unharmed. The appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.*3:25 Or, the Son of God."

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace. He spoke and said, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!"

Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the middle of the fire. 27 The local governors, the deputies, and the governors, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power on their bodies. The hair of their head wasn’t singed. Their pants weren’t changed. The smell of fire wasn’t even on them.

28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree that every people, nation, and language which speak anything evil against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill, because there is no other god who is able to deliver like this."

30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Te Whakahau kia Koropiko ki te Whakapakoko Kōura

1 I hangā e Kīngi Nepukaneha he whakapakoko kōura, ko tōna roa e ono tekau whatīanga, ā, ko tōna whānui e ono whatīanga; ā, whakatūria ana e ia ki te mānia o Rura i te kāwanatanga o Papurōna. 2 Kātahi a Kīngi Nepukaneha ka tono tāngata ki te huihui i ngā ariki, i ngā kāwana, i ngā rangatira, i ngā kaiwhakawā, i ngā kaitiaki taonga, i ngā kaiwhakatakoto whakaaro, i ērā atu rangatira, i ngā kāwana katoa o ngā kāwanatanga, kia haere mai ki te tāinga o te kawa o te whakapakoko i whakatūria e Kīngi Nepukaneha. 3 Kātahi ngā ariki, ngā kāwana, ngā rangatira, ngā kaiwhakawā, ngā kaitiaki taonga, ngā kaiwhakatakoto whakaaro, ērā atu rangatira, me ngā kāwana katoa o ngā kāwanatanga ka huihui ki te tāinga o te kawa o te whakapakoko kua whakatūria nei e Kīngi Nepukaneha. Nā, tū ana rātou ki te aronga o te whakapakoko kua whakatūria nei e Nepukaneha.

4 Kātahi ka nui atu te karanga a te kaikaranga, "He whakahau tēnei ki a koutou, e ngā tāngata, e ngā iwi, e ngā reo; 5 ā te wā e rongo ai koutou i te tangi o te koronete, o te pūtōrino, o te hāpa, o te hakaputa, o te hātere, o te taratimere, o ngā mea tangi katoa, me takoto koutou, me koropiko ki te whakapakoko kōura kua whakatūria nei e Kīngi Nepukaneha. 6 Nā, ki te kāhore tētahi e takoto, e koropiko, ka makā ia i taua hāora anō ki waenganui o te oumu he mura rawa nei te ngiha."

7 Nā reira, i taua wā, i te rongonga o te iwi katoa i te tangi o te koronete, o te pūtōrino, o te hāpa, o te hakaputa, o te hātere, o ngā mea tangi katoa, takoto tonu iho ngā tāngata katoa, ngā iwi, ngā reo, koropiko ana ki te whakapakoko kōura kua tū nei i a Kīngi Nepukaneha.

Ka Whakapaea ngā Hoa e Toru mō te Whakahoihoi

8 Heoi, i taua wā ka haere mai ētahi Karari, ka whakahē ki ngā Hūrai. 9 I kōrero rātou, i mea ki a Kīngi Nepukaneha, "E te kīngi, kia ora tonu koe. 10 I whakatakotoria e koe he ture, e te kīngi, nā, ko ngā tāngata katoa e rongo ana i te tangi o te koronete, o te pūtōrino, o te hāpa, o te hakaputa, o te hātere, o te taratimere, o ngā mea tangi katoa, kia takoto, kia koropiko ki te whakapakoko kōura; 11 ā, ki te kāhore tētahi e takoto, e koropiko, kia makā ia ki te oumu he mura rawa te ngiha. 12 Tēnei ētahi Hūrai, he hunga i whakaritea e koe hei kaitirotiro mō ngā mea o te kāwanatanga o Papurōna: ko Hataraka, ko Mehaka, ko Apereneko. Kīhai ēnei tāngata i whakaaro ki a koe, e te kīngi; kāhore rātou e mahi ki ōu atua, kāhore e koropiko ki te whakapakoko kōura ka oti nei te whakatū e koe."

13 Kātahi a Nepukaneha i runga i tōna riri me te weriweri ka whakahau kia mauria mai a Hataraka, a Mehaka, a Apereneko. Kātahi ka kawea mai e rātou aua tāngata ki te aroaro o te kīngi. 14 I kōrero a Nepukaneha, i mea ki a rātou, "He mea āta whakaaro rānei, e Hataraka, e Mehaka, e Apereneko, e kore nei koutou e mahi ki ōku atua, e kore nei e koropiko ki te whakapakoko kōura kua tū nei i ahau? 15 Nā, ki te hihiko koutou i te wā e rongo ai koutou i te tangi o te koronete, o te pūtōrino, o te hāpa, o te hakaputa, o te hātere, o te taratimere o ngā mea tangi katoa, ā, ka takoto ka koropiko, ki te whakapakoko i hangā e ahau, he pai. Tēnā ki te kāhore koutou e koropiko, ka makā koutou i taua hāora ki te oumu he mura rawa tōna ngiha; ā, ko wai te atua hei whakaora i a koutou i roto i ōku ringa?"

16 I whakahoki a Hataraka a Mehaka, a Apereneko, i mea ki te kīngi, "E Nepukaneha, kāhore ā mātou māharahara ki te whakahoki kupu ki a koe mō tēnei mea. 17 Ki te pēnātia, e taea anō e tō mātou Atua, e karakiatia nei e mātou, te whakaora i a mātou i roto i te oumu he mura rawa nei te ngiha, inā, ka whakaorangia anō mātou e ia i tōu ringa, e te kīngi. 18 Otiia ka kore, kia mōhio koe, e te kīngi, e kore mātou e mahi ki ōu atua, e kore anō e koropiko ki te whakapakoko kōura kua tū nā i a koe."

Ka Whiua ngā Taitama ki roto i te Ahi

19 Kī tonu i reira a Nepukaneha i te riri, rerekē ana te āhua o tōna mata ki a Hataraka, ki a Mehaka, ki a Apereneko. Kōrero ana ia, whakahau ana kia whitu ngā whakanekehanga ake o te hana o te oumu i tō mua hana. 20 I whakahau anō ia i ngā tāngata kaha rawa o tāna ope kia herea a Hataraka, a Mehaka, a Apereneko, kia makā ki roto ki te oumu he mura rawa nei te ngiha. 21 Kātahi ka herea ngā tāngata nei i roto tonu i ō rātou tarau, i ō rātou koti, i ō rātou koroka me ērā atu ō rātou kākahu, ā, ka makā ki roto ki te oumu he mura rawa nei tōna ngiha. 22 Nā reira, i te akiaki rawa o te whakahau a te kīngi, i te nui rawa hoki o te hana o te ahi, mate iho i te mura o te ahi ngā tāngata nāna i kawe a Hataraka, a Mehaka, a Apereneko. 23 Nā, ka taka ngā tāngata tokotoru nei, a Hataraka, a Mehaka, a Apereneko, he mea here, ki waenganui o te oumu he mura rawa nei tōna ngiha.

24 Ko te tino mīharotanga o Nepukaneha, hohoro tonu tōna whakatika, kei te kōrero, kei te mea ki āna kaiwhakatakoto whakaaro, "He teka ianei tokotoru ngā tāngata i makā e tātou, he mea here, ki waenganui o te ahi?"

Ka whakahoki rātou, ka mea ki te kīngi, "He tika anō, e te kīngi."

25 Ka whakahoki ia, ka mea, "Nanā, tokowhā ngā tāngata e kitea nei e ahau, kāhore he here, e hāereere ana i waenganui o te ahi, kāhore hoki e ahatia; nā, ko te āhua o te tuawhā kei tō te Tama a te Atua."

Ka Wetekina, ka Hāpaitia ngā Tāne e Toru

26 Kātahi ka whakatata a Nepukaneha ki te waha o te oumu he mura rawa nei te ngiha, kei te kōrero, kei te mea, "E Hataraka, e Mehaka, e Apereneko, e ngā pononga a te Atua, a te Runga Rawa, puta mai, haere mai hoki."

Kātahi a Hataraka rātou ko Mehaka, ko Apereneko ka puta mai i waenganui o te ahi. 27 Nā, ko te huihuinga o ngā ariki, o ngā kāwana, o ngā rangatira, o ngā kaiwhakatakoto whakaaro a te kīngi, ka kite rātou i ēnei tāngata, kīhai nei te ahi i whai kaha ki ō rātou tinana, kīhai anō ngā makawe o ō rātou māhunga i hunua, kīhai anō ō rātou koti i puta kē, kīhai anō te haunga ahi i rere i runga i a rātou.

28 Ka kōrero a Nepukaneha, ka mea, "Kia whakapaingia te Atua o Hataraka, o Mehaka, o Apereneko, nāna nei i unga mai tāna anahera, ā, whakaorangia ana e ia āna pononga i whakawhirinaki nei ki a ia, i whakaputa kē nei i te kupu a te kīngi, ā, tukua ana e rātou ō rātou tinana, he mea kei mahi rātou, kei koropiko ki tētahi atu atua, engari ki tō rātou Atua anake. 29 Nā, ko tāku ture tēnei e whakatakoto nei, nā, ko ngā tāngata, ko te iwi, ko te reo, he kupu kino nei tāna mō te Atua o Hataraka, o Mehaka, o Apereneko, ka haehaea rātou, ā, ka meinga ō rātou whare hei pūranga paru. Nō te mea kāhore atu he atua he rite tāna whakaora ki tā tēnei."

30 Kātahi ka whakanekehia ake anō a Hataraka, a Mehaka, a Apereneko e te kīngi i te kāwanatanga o Papurōna.