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.”
Parallel translations
- WEB But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which 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.
- NKJV But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
- NASB But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods nor worship the golden statue that you have set up.”
- NLT But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
"But if not," they will still refuse to serve the king's gods. Their loyalty does not depend on being rescued.
Overview
This is the heart of their faith: obedience whether or not God delivers them in this life. They will not bow even if it means death, trusting God's will above their own survival. Their words model a worship that loves God for who he is, not merely for what he gives, and anticipate the martyr's courage seen throughout church history.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Acts 5:29–32But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.
- Matt 10:39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
- Rev 2:10–11Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
- Matt 10:32–33Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven.
- Luke 12:3–9What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.
- Acts 4:10–13then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
- Josh 24:15But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”
- Isa 51:12–13“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?
- Prov 28:1The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
- Rev 12:11They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death.
- Dan 3:28Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
- Job 13:15Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. I will still defend my ways to His face.
- Lev 19:4Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods. I am the LORD your God.
- Exod 20:3–5You shall have no other gods before Me.
- Acts 4:19But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God.
- Matt 10:28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Matt 16:2But He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘The weather will be fair, for the sky is red,’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Daniel sees the stone cut without hands that shatters the kingdoms, and 'one like a son of man' given everlasting dominion — titles and visions Jesus claims as his own.
How Daniel 3:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.