Daniel 3:14 (YLT)

Passage

Nebuchadnezzar hath answered and said to them, `Is <FI>it<Fi> a laid plan, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego--my gods ye are not serving, and to the golden image that I have raised up ye are not doing obeisance?

Nearby Context

Daniel 3:12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast appointed over the work of the province of Babylon--Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, these men have not made of thee, O king, <FI>any<Fi> regard; thy gods they are not serving, and to the golden image thou hast raised up--are not making obeisance.'

Daniel 3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in anger and fury, hath said to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. Then these men have been brought in before the king.

Daniel 3:14 Nebuchadnezzar hath answered and said to them, `Is <FI>it<Fi> a laid plan, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego--my gods ye are not serving, and to the golden image that I have raised up ye are not doing obeisance?

Daniel 3:15 Now, lo, ye are ready, so that at the time that ye hear the voice of the cornet, the flute, the harp, the sackbut, the psaltery, and the symphony, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and do obeisance to the image that I have made! --and lo, ye do no obeisance--in that hour ye are cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; who is that God who doth deliver you out of my hands?'

Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego have answered, yea, they are saying to the king Nebuchadnezzar, `We have no need concerning this matter to answer thee.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "nebuchadnezzar", "hath", "answered", "said", "laid", "plan", "shadrach", and "meshach". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "nebuchadnezzar" and "hath", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Then Nebuchadnezzar in anger and fury hath..." into verse 15's "Now lo ye are ready so that...", so "nebuchadnezzar" and "hath" 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 "nebuchadnezzar" and "hath" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.