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And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Daniel 3:23 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the middle of the burning fiery furnace.
  • BSB And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, firmly bound, fell into the blazing fiery furnace.
  • NKJV And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
  • NASB But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.
  • NLT So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.

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

The three men fall, bound, into the midst of the blazing furnace. Their plight could not be more dire.

Overview

They go down into the fire still tied, with no way out by their own strength. The verse leaves them at the lowest point, seemingly lost. It is precisely here, where all hope seems gone, that God will reveal his presence and power.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Dan 6:16–17Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
  • Jer 38:6Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
  • Ps 66:11–12Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.
  • Ps 124:1–5If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say;
  • Ps 34:19Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
  • 2 Cor 4:17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
  • 1 Pet 4:12–13Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
  • 2 Cor 1:8–10For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:
  • Lam 3:52–54Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (7)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Daniel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Daniel 3:23YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on DanielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 3:23 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.