Daniel 3:4
in Daniel 3Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “O people of every nation and language, this is what you are commanded:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,
KJV
Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
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This verse in Daniel 3
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Then an herald cried aloud - Margin, as in Chaldee, “with might.” He made a loud proclamation. A “herald” here means a public crier. To you it is commanded - Margin, “they commanded.” Literally, “to you commanding” (plural); that is, the king has commanded. O people, nations, and languages - The empire of Babylon was made up of different nations, speaking quite different languages. The representatives of these nations were assembled on this occasion, and the command would extend to all. There was evidently no exception made in favor of the scruples of any, and the order would include the Hebrews as well as others. It should be observed, however, that no others but the Hebrews would have any scruples on the subject. They were all accustomed to worship idols, and the worship of one god did not prevent their doing homage also to another. It accorded with the prevailing views of idolaters that there were many gods; that there were tutelary divinities presiding over particular people; and that it was not im proper to render homage to the god of any people or country. Though, therefore, they might themselves worship other gods in their own countries, they would have no scruples about worshipping also the one that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. In this respect the Jews were an exception. They acknowledged but one God; they believed that all others were false gods, and it was a violation of the fundamental principles of their religion to render homage to any other.
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
Verses 4,
And we know that once we have been persuaded by Jesus to abandon idols and the atheism of worshiping many gods, the enemy cannot persuade us to commit idolatry, though he tries to force us. That is why he empowers those over whom he has authority to do such things.…It is not just of old that Nebuchadnezzar's image of gold was set up or only then that he threatened Ananias, Azarias and Misael that he would throw them into the burning fiery furnace unless they worshiped it. Even now Nebuchadnezzar says the same thing to us, the true Hebrews in exile from our homeland. But as for us, let us imitate those holy men so that we may experience the heavenly dew that quenches every fire that arises in us and cools our governing mind.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHOMILIES CONCERNING THE STATUES 4:8 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
Seest thou how difficult these struggles are made; how irresistible the snare; and how deep the gulph, and a precipice on either hand? But be not afraid. In whatever degree the enemy increases his machinations, so much the more does he display the courage of the young men. For this reason is there this symphony of so many musicians; for this reason the burning furnace; in order that both pleasure, and fear, may besiege the souls of those present. Is there any one of harsh and unyielding character among them? "Let the melody of every kind of music," saith he, "enchant and soften him." But is he superior to this artifice, "let the sight of the flame affright and astound him." Thus was fear as well as pleasure present; the one entering to assault the soul by the ears, the other by the eyes. But the noble character of these youths was not by any such means to be conquered; but even as, when they fell into the fire, they mastered the flames, even so they derided all desire and all fear.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then an herald cried aloud,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Then a herald cried aloud - כרוזא קרא בחיל caroza kara bechayil, “a crier called with might.” A bedel cried mightili. - Old MS. Bible.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכָרוֹזָ֖א | vekharoza' | and herald the | H3744 → | |
| קָרֵ֣א | kare' | [was] proclaiming | H7123 → | 11 times |
| בְחָ֑יִל | vechayil | with power | H2429 → | 7 times |
| לְכ֤וֹן | lekhon | to you | ||
| אָֽמְרִין֙ | ʾamerin | [they are] saying | H560 → | 71 times |
| עַֽמְמַיָּ֔א | ʾamaiya' | peoples O | H5972 → | 15 times |
| אֻמַּיָּ֖א | ʾumaiya' | <the> nations | H524 → | 8 times |
| וְלִשָּׁנַיָּֽא׃ | velishanaiya' | and <the> languages | H3961 → | 7 times |
וְכָרוֹזָ֖אand herald the
vekharoza'H3744 →
קָרֵ֣א[was] proclaiming
kare'H7123 →11 times
בְחָ֑יִלwith power
vechayilH2429 →7 times
לְכ֤וֹןto you
lekhon
אָֽמְרִין֙[they are] saying
ʾamerinH560 →71 times
עַֽמְמַיָּ֔אpeoples O
ʾamaiya'H5972 →15 times
אֻמַּיָּ֖א<the> nations
ʾumaiya'H524 →8 times
וְלִשָּׁנַיָּֽא׃and <the> languages
velishanaiya'H3961 →7 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
Daniel 6:25Then King Darius wrote to the people of every nation and language throughout the land: “May your prosperity abound.
it leads to
- Daniel 4:1
King Nebuchadnezzar, To the people of every nation and language who dwell in all the earth: May your prosperity be multiplied.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezra 4:17
Then the king sent this reply: To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of your associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates: Greetings.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 4:1
Through
Daniel 4:1King Nebuchadnezzar, To the people of every nation and language who dwell in all the earth: May your prosperity be multiplied.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 1:2
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 6:25
Then King Darius wrote to the people of every nation and language throughout the land: “May your prosperity abound.
- 1 Peter 1:2
Through
Esther 8:9At once the royal scribes were summoned, and on the twenty-third day of the third month (the month of Sivan), they recorded all of Mordecai’s orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governors,…
it leads to
- Esther 1:22
He sent letters to all the provinces of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be master of his…
- Esther 1:1
This is what happened in the days of Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush.
- Esther 1:22
Through
Micah 6:16You have kept the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house; you have followed their counsel. Therefore I will make you a desolation, and your inhabitants an object of contempt; you…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:51
“We are ashamed because we have heard reproach; disgrace has covered our faces, because foreigners have entered the holy places of the LORD’s house.”
- Jeremiah 51:51
Through
Daniel 4:14He called out in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it, and the birds…
it leads to
- Matthew 3:10
The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
- Matthew 3:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Daniel
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; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER THREE; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES CONCERNING THE STATUES 4:8; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM 32-33.