Daniel 3:1
in Daniel 3King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
KJV
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
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This verse in Daniel 3
Commentary
12 notes on this verseVerse 1. "Nebuchadnezzar the king made a golden statue seventy cubits in height and six cubits in breadth." How soon he forgot the truth, when he had just been worshipping a servant of God as if he had been God Himself, but now commanded a statue to be made for himself in order that he personally might be worshipped in the statue!
This site's exposition
an image of gold
on Daniel 3:1-7
The image of gold stands sixty cubits by six on the plain of Dura, and the commentators set it beside chapter 2: the king who was told his golden head would pass has built a figure gold from head to foot, dream defied in metal. The state liturgy is drawn in full, the officials listed twice, the six instruments named and renamed, worship at the sound of music on pain of the furnace, and the repetitions are the satire, as the bench reads the chapter's style: idolatry as bureaucracy, faith commanded by orchestra. All the people fell down; the chapter's whole question is who did not.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Our Lord is good and loves humankind, so the creator and ruler desires "all to be saved and to know the truth" and "does not seek the death of the wicked but that they should turn and live." Indeed, for that reason he died for …
And so, after sufficient time had passed and the eighteenth year had come, the king, having remembered his dream, made a golden image, which was sixty cubits high and its breadth was six cubits. For when the blessed Daniel, when he interpreted the same dream, answered the saying, "You are the head of the golden image," [Daniel 2:38] in this word king Nebuchadnezzar, having been puffed up and having been lifted up in heart, made the image as an anti-type of the dream, so that he might be worshiped as God by all. And so having furnished it in greatness he set it up in the plain of Deira in the country of Babylon.
For Scripture says, "In the eighteenth year, Nebuchadnezzar the king made a golden image, its height was sixty cubits, and its breadth was six cubits, and he set it in the plain of Deira in the country of Babylon." [Daniel 3:1] And so through eighteen years he imitated Jesus the son of God, who was present in the world, who also raised his own human image from the dead and showed this image, which was pure and blameless as gold, to his disciples. Through the height of sixty cubits, there are sixty patriarchs, through whom the image of God according to the flesh, that is the Word, is molded and fashioned and is exulted on behalf of all the patriarchs. Through the breadth of six cubits this recalls the six days of creation. For on the sixth day man, having been molded from dust, came to be. And so the gold which Nebuchadnezzar molded into the representative image which he made, he set it up on the plain of Deira, in the country of Babylon, indicating the plain to be the world, and Babylon the great city. And at that time Nebuchadnezzar made only one image, but now the deceiver devises greater things in the world, so that through the many spectacles he may delude all men, some being carried about in one direction or another, some worshiping golden idols, others silver, others bronze, some that which is composed from ivory, many revering clay and stone. They all, abandoning the heavenly God, submit to empty and lifeless and useless idols, not wishing to look up to the height of heaven, nor wishing to apprehend the beauty of heaven, so that they, who do not recognize the God of this heaven, are not able to be saved. These things are the handiwork of the devil. He worked not only long ago in Babylon, but also now he does the same things and endeavors more reckless things against the slaves of God. […]
The Reformation2 voices
But at the same time some pretense to piety was joined with it; for he pretended that he wished to worship God. Hence, also, what I formerly mentioned appears more clear, namely, -- King Nebuchadnezzar was not truly and heartily converted, but rather remained fixed in his own errors, when he was attributing glory to the God of Israel.
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Note, The worshippers of false gods are not wont to mind charges in setting up images and worshipping them; they lavish gold out of the bag for that purpose ( Isa. xlvi. 6 ), which shames our niggardliness in the worship of the true God. The vastness of it; it was threescore cubits high and six cubits broad.
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold - The time when he did this is not mentioned; nor is it stated in whose honor, or for what design, this colossal image was erected. In the Greek and Arabic translationns, this is said to have occurred in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. This is not, however, in the original text, nor is it known on what authority it is asserted. Dean Prideaux (Consex. I.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
image--Nebuchadnezzar's confession of God did not prevent him being a worshipper of idols, besides. Ancient idolaters thought that each nation had its own gods, and that, in addition to these, foreign gods might be worshipped. The Jewish religion was the only exclusive one that claimed all homage for Jehovah as the only true God.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold - It is supposed that the history given here did not occur till the close, or near the end, of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. For it was after his insanity, as we see Dan 4:33-36, and this happened near the close of his reign. The authorized version, which is followed in the margin, fixes the date of this event seventeen years earlier, and ten years before the king’s insanity. A few observations on this image may be necessary: - 1. It is not likely that this image was in human form - the dimensions show the improbability of this; for what proportion is there between sixty cubits (ninety feet) in length, and six cubits (nine feet) in breadth? 2. It is not likely that this image was all of gold; for this would have required more of this precious metal than the whole province of Babylon could produce; for as I suppose the sixty cubits apply to the perpendicular altitude, so I take it for granted that the six cubits intend the diameter. Now a column of gold of this height in diameter, upon the supposition that the pillar was circular, contains five thousand seven hundred and twenty-five and a half cubic feet; and as there are nineteen thousand avoirdupois ounces in a cubic foot, the weight of the whole pillar would be eight million two hundred and sixty-two thousand eight hundred and six pounds, ten ounces of gold. 3. It might have been a pillar on which an image of the god Bel was erected. The image itself might be of gold, or more probably gilt, that is, covered with thin plates of gold, and on this account it might be called the golden image; and most probably the height of the image may be confounded with the height of the pillar. […]
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּ֣ר | nevukhadnetzar | Nebuchadnezzar | H5020 → | 31 times |
| מַלְכָּ֗א | malka' | king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
| עֲבַד֙ | ʾavad | he made | H5648 → | 28 times |
| צְלֵ֣ם | tzelem | an image | H6755 → | 17 times |
| דִּֽי־ | di- | of | H1768 → | 345 times |
| דְהַ֔ב | dehav | gold | H1722 → | 23 times |
| רוּמֵהּ֙ | rumeh | height its | H7314 → | 5 times |
| אַמִּ֣ין | ʾamin | [was] cubits | H521 → | |
| שִׁתִּ֔ין | shitin | sixty | H8361 → | |
| פְּתָיֵ֖הּ | petayeh | width its | H6613 → | |
| אַמִּ֣ין | ʾamin | [was] cubits | H521 → | |
| שִׁ֑ת | shit | six | H8353 → | |
| אֲקִימֵהּ֙ | ʾakimeh | he set up it | H6966 → | 35 times |
| בְּבִקְעַ֣ת | bevikat | on [the] plain of | H1236 → | |
| דּוּרָ֔א | dura' | Dura | H1757 → | |
| בִּמְדִינַ֖ת | bimdinat | in [the] province of | H4083 → | 11 times |
| בָּבֶֽל׃ | bavel | Babylon | H895 → | 25 times |
נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּ֣רNebuchadnezzar
nevukhadnetzarH5020 →31 times
מַלְכָּ֗אking the
malka'H4430 →180 times
עֲבַד֙he made
ʾavadH5648 →28 times
צְלֵ֣םan image
tzelemH6755 →17 times
דִּֽי־of
di-H1768 →345 times
דְהַ֔בgold
dehavH1722 →23 times
רוּמֵהּ֙height its
rumehH7314 →5 times
אַמִּ֣ין[was] cubits
ʾaminH521 →
שִׁתִּ֔יןsixty
shitinH8361 →
פְּתָיֵ֖הּwidth its
petayehH6613 →
אַמִּ֣ין[was] cubits
ʾaminH521 →
שִׁ֑תsix
shitH8353 →
אֲקִימֵהּ֙he set up it
ʾakimehH6966 →35 times
בְּבִקְעַ֣תon [the] plain of
bevikatH1236 →
דּוּרָ֔אDura
dura'H1757 →
בִּמְדִינַ֖תin [the] province of
bimdinatH4083 →11 times
בָּבֶֽל׃Babylon
bavelH895 →25 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 17:29Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.
it leads to
- Psalms 115:4–8
Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 40:25
“To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.
- Exodus 20:4
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.
- Isaiah 46:5–6
To whom will you liken Me or count Me equal? To whom will you compare Me, that we should be alike?
- Habakkuk 2:19–20
Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.”
- Psalms 115:4–8
Through
Habakkuk 2:19Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.”
it leads to
- Psalms 135:17
they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths.
- Psalms 135:17
Through
Isaiah 46:6They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship.
it leads to
- Acts 17:29
Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 17:29
Through
Jeremiah 16:20Can man make gods for himself? Such are not gods!”
it leads to
- Isaiah 37:19
They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.
- Isaiah 37:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Daniel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 2.15.1-3; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 2.27.5-11; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Daniel; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 3:1.