Bible Strands
Daniel 3:12
But there are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored you, O king, and have refused to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Court officials address King Nebuchadnezzar to report that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego have ignored his command. This accusation follows immediately after the king’s decree that anyone refusing to worship the golden statue will be cast into the fiery furnace.
The words — The Aramaic verb מַנּ֤יתָ (ma.Ni.ta) means "you have appointed," emphasizing that the king himself placed these men in power. The noun עֲבִידַת֙ ('a.vi.Dat) translates literally to "administration," specifying the exact governmental province they oversee.
The thread — Officials using similar accusations against royal appointees appears in Daniel 6:13 against Daniel and mirrors the political defiance described in Acts 17:7. The fact that the king originally appointed these three is recorded in Daniel 2:49.
Why it lands — The text states that appointed officials can openly defy a sovereign’s idolatrous decree without immediate consequence. It requires the reader to confront the direct tension between civil compliance and religious fidelity when state authority demands worship.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
Cross-references
- Daniel 6:13 Then they told the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, shows no regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed. He still makes his petition three times a day.”
- Daniel 2:49 And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.
- Acts 17:7 and Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, named Jesus!”
- Proverbs 27:4 Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?
- 1 Samuel 18:7 And as the women danced, they sang out: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
- Esther 3:8 Then Haman informed King Xerxes, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples of every province of your kingdom. Their laws are different from everyone else’s, and they do not obey the king’s laws. So it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.
- Ecclesiastes 4:4 I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
- Acts 5:28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.”