Daniel 3:16 (GNV)

Passage

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the King, O Nebuchad-nezzar, we are not carefull to answere thee in this matter.

Nearby Context

Daniel 3:14 And Nebuchad-nezzar spake, and said vnto them, What disorder? will not you, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego serue my god, nor worship the golden image, that I haue set vp?

Daniel 3:15 Now therefore are ye ready when ye heare the sound of the cornet, trumpet, harpe, sackebut, psalterie, and dulcimer, and all instruments of musike, to fall downe, and worship the image, which I haue made? for if ye worship it not, ye shall be cast immediatly into the middes of an hote fierie fornace: for who is that God, that can deliuer you out of mine handes?

Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the King, O Nebuchad-nezzar, we are not carefull to answere thee in this matter.

Daniel 3:17 Beholde, our God whom we serue, is able to deliuer vs from the hote fierie fornace, and hee will deliuer vs out of thine hand, O King.

Daniel 3:18 But if not, bee it knowen to thee, O King, that wee will not serue thy gods, nor worship the golden image, which thou hast set vp.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shadrach", "meshach", "abednego", "answered", "said", "king", "nebuchad-nezzar", and "carefull". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shadrach" and "meshach", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Now therefore are ye ready when ye..." into verse 17's "Beholde our God whom we serue is...", so "shadrach" and "meshach" 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 "shadrach" and "meshach" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.