Now if ye be ready at the time that ye hear the sound of the cornet, pipe, lute, sambuca, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, [well]: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast that same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace: and who is the God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
Daniel 3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then were these men brought before the king.
Daniel 3:14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said unto them, Is it of purpose, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that ye serve not my god, nor worship the golden image that I have set up?
Daniel 3:15 Now if ye be ready at the time that ye hear the sound of the cornet, pipe, lute, sambuca, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, [well]: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast that same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace: and who is the God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer thee in this matter.
Daniel 3:17 If it be [so], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver [us] out of thy hand, O king.
The verse centers on "ready", "time", "hear", "sound", "cornet", "pipe", "lute", and "sambuca". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "ready" and "time", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said unto them Is..." into verse 16's "Shadrach Meshach and Abed-nego answered and said...", so "ready" and "time" belong inside that flow. In Daniel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "ready" and "time" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.