Daniel 3:17–18: Edit history

Context

In Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon sets up a golden image on the plain of Dura. He commands all officials to fall down and worship it when the music sounds and threatens to throw anyone who refuses into a burning fiery furnace (vv. 1–6). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, officials of Judean origin, refuse to bow and are accused. The king gives them another chance and asks, "Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" (v. 15). Verses 17–18 are the three men's answer to that question. They are then thrown into the furnace, but a fourth man is seen walking with them in the fire, and they come out unharmed (vv. 24–27). Daniel 2:4b–7:28 is written in Aramaic, and this passage falls within that section.

Interpretation

• As a statement of resolute faith: The three men are confident of God's power, yet they leave to His will whether He will rescue them and declare that in either case they will not bow to the idol. Interpreters see the heart of this confession in the conviction that the reason for serving God does not depend on the outcome.
• The conditional clause in verse 17: The Aramaic at the opening of verse 17 is, literally, closer to "if it be so." Some read it as "if there is a God who can deliver us," while others read it as "if we are thrown into the fire." The Korean Revised Version tradition renders it as a statement of confidence that God is able to deliver them.
• The fourth man: Part of the church's tradition identifies the fourth figure in the fire, whose form is "like the Son of God" (v. 25; literally "a son of the gods"), as the preincarnate Christ, while other interpreters see an angel sent by God (in v. 28 the king says God "hath sent his angel").

Questions of Application

This passage raises the question of how faith that God will surely deliver through a miracle relates to faith that remains steadfast even when He does not. It is cited both by those who teach confidence in answered prayer and by those who emphasize a faith that entrusts the answer to God's sovereignty. It is read in the same vein as Hebrews 11, which lists together those who were delivered by faith and those who suffered by faith.

In Korean Churches

In Korean Protestant churches, this scene is frequently invoked when recounting the stories of believers who refused Shinto shrine worship during the Japanese colonial period, and it is widely used in memorial services for martyrs and in sermons on faith amid suffering. The phrase "but if not" has itself become a widely used expression of personal confession of faith.

Related Passages

• Daniel 3:24–28
• Habakkuk 3:17–18
• Job 13:15
• Hebrews 11:33–38