Daniel 3:28 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Daniel 3:28
Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
Nebukadnetstsar (or -retstsar · proper noun, a man's name
spake
עָנֵ֨ה'a.Neh
H6032
properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
said
וְאָמַ֗רve.'a.Mar
H560
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
Blessed
בְּרִ֤יךְbe.Rikh
H1289
to kneel · verb, active participle, masculine singular absolute
God
אֱלָהֲהוֹן֙'e.la.ha.hOn
H426
God · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
Shadrach
שַׁדְרַ֤ךְshad.Rakh
H7715
Shadrak · proper noun, a man's name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Romans 14:7-8 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
Psalms 34:7-8 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
Psalms 84:11-12 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon…
Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Psalms 22:4-5 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
Psalms 147:11 The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which i…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 3:28–end
The strict observations that were made, super visum corporis - on inspecting their bodies, by the princes and governors, and all the great men who were present upon this public occasion, and who could not be supposed partial in favour of the confessors, contributed much to the clearing of this miracle and the magnifying of the power and grace of God in it. That indeed a notable miracle has been done is manifest, and we cannot deny it, Act 4:16. Let us now see what effect it had upon Nebuchadnezzar.
I. He gives glory to the God of Israel as a God able and ready to protect his worshippers (Dan 3:28): "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Let him have the honour both of the fa…
In giving some better traits in Nebuchadnezzar's character, Daniel agrees with Jer 39:11; Jer 42:12.
changed the king's word--have made the king's attempt to coerce into obedience vain. Have set aside his word (so "alter . . . word," Ezr 6:11) from regard to God. Nebuchadnezzar now admits that God's law should be obeyed, rather than his (Act 5:29).
yielded . . . bodies--namely, to the fire.
not serve--by sacrificing.
nor worship--by prostration of the body. Decision for God at last gains the respect even of the worldly (Pro 16:7).
Adam Clarke on Daniel 3:28
Blessed be the God of Shadrach, etc. - Here is a noble testimony from a heathen. And what produced it? The intrepidly pious conduct of these three noble Jews. Had they been time-servers, the name of the true God had not been known in Babylon. What honor does the Lord put on them that are steadfast in the faith!
John Gill on Daniel 3:28
Then Nebuchadnezzar spake and said,.... In the presence of his princes and prime ministers of state, and made the following confession, to the praise and glory of the true God; which was extorted from him at this time through the force of conviction; for it does not appear to be a thorough conversion; nor did he relinquish his gods, and the worship of them:
blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; he does not call him his God, but theirs, as he had called him the God of Daniel before, Daniel 2:47,
who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him; the fourth man he saw in the furnace he now calls an angel of God; for the Heathens had notions of some bein…
The Church Fathers
But the Chaldaeans and the Medes and Persians, having a somewhat wider knowledge, were instructed by the building of the Tower, and the deluge, and by what happened in the case of Hezekiah and Jonah, and by the Captivity, and by Daniel and the Three Children, and also partly by the writings themselves. In like manner also the Egyptians were instructed by the affairs of Joseph and of Moses, and by the people of Israel, and these nations were thus better prepared for a ready acceptance of Christianity.
Verse 28. " 'Blessed be God (the Vulgate has "their God, namely") of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Who hath sent His angel and rescued His servants who believed in Him...'" The person whom he had previously called a son of God he here calls an angel, even though he had in the preceding passage described him as similar to a son of God rather than to God Himself. A second time, therefore, Nebuchadnezzar resumes a confession of faith in God, and as he condemns idols he praises the three youths who refused to serve or worship any god but their own God. Moreover he marvels that the fire was unable to affect the saints of God, for he says:
This is our faith. Thus did God will that he should be known by all, thus believed the three children [of the fiery furnace] who did not feel the fire into which they were cast, which destroyed and burned up the unbelievers while it fell harmless as a dew upon the faithful. The flames kindled by others became cold, seeing that the torment has justly lost its power in conflict with faith. For with them there was one in the form of an angel, comforting them, to the end that in number of the Trinity one supreme power might be praised. God was praised; the Father of God was seen in God's angel and holy and spiritual grace in the children.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Abednego — Servant of Nego=Nebo, the Chaldee name given to Azariah, one of Daniel’s three companions (Dan. 2:49). With Shadrach and Meshach, he was delivered from the burning fiery furnace (3:12-30).
Meshach — The title given to Mishael, one of the three Hebrew youths who were under training at the Babylonian court for the rank of Magi (Dan. 1:7; 2:49; 3:12-30). This was probably the name of some Chaldean…
Nebuchadnezzar — In the Babylonian orthography Nabu-kudur-uzur, which means “Nebo, protect the crown!” or the “frontiers.” In an inscription he styles himself “Nebo’s favourite.” He was the son and successor of…
Abed-Nego · .A Jewish — .A Jewish
Coercion · RELIGIOUS — RELIGIOUS
Indictments · .Three Hebrew — .Three Hebrew
Meshach · A name given by the chief eu — A name given by the chief eu
Mishael · .Thrown into the fiery furnace — .Thrown into the fiery furnace
Persecution · God delivers out of — God delivers out of
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Meshach
מֵישַׁךְ֙mei.shaKh
H4336
Meshak · proper noun, a man's name
Abed-nego
וַעֲבֵ֣דva.'a.Ved
H5665
Abed-Nego · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
sent
שְׁלַ֤חshe.Lach
H7972
to send away · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
angel
מַלְאֲכֵהּ֙mal.'a.Kheh
H4398
an angel · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
delivered
וְשֵׁיזִ֣בve.shei.Ziv
H7804
to leave · conjunction + verb, perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
servants
לְעַבְד֔וֹהִיle.'av.Do.hi
H5649
a servant · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
trusted
הִתְרְחִ֖צוּhit.re.Chi.tzu
H7365
to attend upon · verb, perfect, 3rd person masculine plural
him
עֲל֑וֹהִיa.Lo.hi
H5922
above · preposition + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
changed
שַׁנִּ֔יוsha.Niv
H8133
to alter · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine plural
king’s
מַלְכָּא֙mal.Ka'
H4430
a king · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
word
וּמִלַּ֤תu.mi.Lat
H4406
a word · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular construct
yielded
וִיהַ֣בוּvi.Ha.vu
H3052
to give (whether literal or figurative) · conjunction + verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine plural
bodies
גֶשְׁמְה֗וֹןgesh.mei.hon
H1655
used in a peculiar sense · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
not
לָֽאla'-
H3809
not (the simple or abs. negation) · negative particle
serve
יִפְלְח֤וּןyif.le.Chun
H6399
to serve or worship · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
nor
וְלָֽאve.la'-
H3809
not (the simple or abs. negation) · conjunction + negative particle
worship
יִסְגְּדוּן֙yis.ge.Dun
H5457
to prostrate oneself (in homage) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
any
לְכָלle.khol
H3606
properly · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
god
אֱלָ֔הּ'e.Lah
H426
God · noun, common both genders singular absolute
except
לָהֵ֖ןla.Hen
H3861
therefore · conjunction
God
לֵאלָֽהֲהֽוֹןle.La.ha.Hon
H426
God · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
Daniel 3:28
28. Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
28. Loquutus est Nebuchadnezer, et dixit, Benedictus Deus ipsorum, nempe Sadrach, Mesach, et Abed-nego, qui misit angelum suum, et eripuit, servavit, servos suos, qui confisi sunt in ipso, et verbum regis mutarunt, [197] et tradiderunt corpora sua, ne colerent, vel adorarent omnem deum, [198] praeter Deum suum.
This, indeed, is no common confession, but the event proved how suddenly K…
The impression made by this event on Nebuchadnezzar.
The marvellous deliverance of the three from the flames of the furnace produced such an impression on Nebuchadnezzar, that he changed his earlier and humbler judgment (Dan 3:15) regarding the God of the Jews, and spoke now in praise of the might of this God. For at the same time he not only openly announced that He had saved (Dan 3:28) His servants, but also by an edict, issued to all the peoples of his kingdom, he forbade on pain of death the doing of any dishonour to the God of the Jews (Dan 3:29). Nebuchadnezzar, however, did not turn to the true God. He neither acknowledged Jehovah as the only, or the alone true God, nor did he command…
The king was surprised that God could rescue his people, but the three Hebrew men knew that their God could deliver them (3:17).
Rashi on Daniel 3:28
Nebuchadnezzar cried out [as translated,] Nebuchadnezzar cried out.
who trusted him [as translated,] who trusted him.
deviated from the command of the king They deviated from the king’s command by not fulfilling it.
and risked their lives lit. delivered their bodies.
except to their God [as translated,] except to their God.
