The Meaning of Daniel 3:19 Explained

Daniel 3:19

KJV: Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.

YLT: Then Nebuchadnezzar hath been full of fury, and the expression of his face hath been changed concerning Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; he answered and said to heat the furnace seven times above that which it is seen to be heated;

Darby: Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated.

ASV: Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then  was Nebuchadnezzar  full  of fury,  and the form  of his visage  was changed  against  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and Abednego:  [therefore] he spake,  and commanded  that they should heat  the furnace  one  seven times  more  than  it was wont  to be heated. 

What does Daniel 3:19 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The determination of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to withhold the form of allegiance that Nebuchadnezzar required made the king as angry as he could be. He apparently ordered the furnace heated to seven times its normal heat to make an example of them. "Seven times more" is a proverbial expression for "much more" in some passages (cf. Proverbs 24:16; Proverbs 26:16), and it probably has that meaning here, too.
"His furnace was hot, but he himself got hotter! And when a man gets full of fury, he gets full of folly. There is no fool on earth like a man who has lost his temper. And Nebuchadnezzar did a stupid thing. He ought to have cooled the furnace seven times less if he had wanted to hurt them; but instead of that in his fury he heated it seven times more." [1]

Context Summary

Daniel 3:19-30 - Loyalty Rewarded
It is only when we reach the fire that we become aware of the presence of the divine Companion, walking beside us as if treading the dew-besprinkled glades of Paradise. The Good Shepherd was there with His rod and staff. Loose, Daniel 3:25, that is, the fire had consumed their bonds and nothing else. Hair would soonest catch the flame, but not a hair perished, Luke 12:7; Luke 21:18. The yielded body of Daniel 3:28 reminds us of Romans 6:13; Romans 12:1-2. Let us yield our bodies and souls to our faithful Creator for Him to use as He will. He made and redeemed, let Him have; and when we are possessed by His Spirit, all other fires, whether physical or temperamental, fail to hurt. Of the martyrs, it may be said that upon them also the fire had no power, Isaiah 43:2! [source]

Chapter Summary: Daniel 3

1  Nebuchadnezzar dedicates a golden image in Dura
3  They being threatened, make a good confession
8  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are accused for not worshipping the image
19  They are cast into the furnace,
24  from which God delivers them
28  Nebuchadnezzar seeing the miracle blesses God, and advances them

What do the individual words in Daniel 3:19 mean?

Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury and the expression on his face - changed toward Shadrach Meshach and Abed-nego He spoke and commanded that they heat furnace the times seven more than it usually was heated
בֵּאדַ֨יִן נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּ֜ר הִתְמְלִ֣י חֱמָ֗א וּצְלֵ֤ם אַנְפּ֙וֹהִי֙ [אשתנו] (אֶשְׁתַּנִּ֔י) עַל־ שַׁדְרַ֥ךְ מֵישַׁ֖ךְ וַעֲבֵ֣ד נְג֑וֹ עָנֵ֤ה וְאָמַר֙ לְמֵזֵ֣א לְאַתּוּנָ֔א חַ֨ד־ שִׁבְעָ֔ה עַ֛ל דִּ֥י חֲזֵ֖ה לְמֵזְיֵֽהּ

נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּ֜ר  Nebuchadnezzar 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר  
Sense: the great king of Babylon who captured Jerusalem and carried Judah captive.
הִתְמְלִ֣י  was  full 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מְלָא  
Sense: to fill.
חֱמָ֗א  of  fury 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֲמָה  
Sense: anger, rage.
וּצְלֵ֤ם  and  the  expression  on 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: צְלֵם  
Sense: image, idol.
אַנְפּ֙וֹהִי֙  his  face 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֲנַף  
Sense: face, nose.
[אשתנו]  - 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Perfect, third person masculine plural
(אֶשְׁתַּנִּ֔י)  changed 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שְׁנָה  
Sense: to change, be altered, be changed.
עַל־  toward 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל  
Sense: upon, over, on account of, above, to, against.
שַׁדְרַ֥ךְ  Shadrach 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שַׁדְרַךְ  
Sense: the godly friend of Daniel whom Nebuchadnezzar renamed Shadrach; one of the three friends who with Daniel refused to make themselves unclean by eating food from the king’s table which went against the dietary laws which God had given the Jews; also one of the three who were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to a graven image of Nebuchadnezzar and who were saved by the angel of the Lord.
מֵישַׁ֖ךְ  Meshach 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֵישַׁךְ  
Sense: the godly friend of Daniel who Nebuchadnezzar renamed Meshach; one of the three friends who with Daniel refused to make themselves unclean by eating food from the king’s table which went against the dietary laws which God had given the Jews; also one of the three who were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to a graven image of Nebuchadnezzar and who were saved by the angel of the Lord.
נְג֑וֹ  Abed-nego 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֲבֵד נְגֹו  
Sense: the godly friend of Daniel who Nebuchadnezzar renamed Abednego; one of the three friends who with Daniel refused to make themselves unclean by eating food from the king’s table which went against the dietary laws which God had given the Jews; also one of the three who were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to a graven image of Nebuchadnezzar and who were saved by the angel of the Lord.
עָנֵ֤ה  He  spoke 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: עֲנָה  
Sense: to answer, respond.
וְאָמַר֙  and  commanded 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: אֲמַר  
Sense: (P’al) to say, to speak, to command, to tell, to relate.
לְמֵזֵ֣א  that  they  heat 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אֲזָה  
Sense: (P’al) make hot, heat.
לְאַתּוּנָ֔א  furnace  the 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular determinate
Root: אַתּוּן  
Sense: furnace.
חַ֨ד־  times 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: חַד  
Sense: one (number).
שִׁבְעָ֔ה  seven 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: שְׁבַע  
Sense: seven.
עַ֛ל  more 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל  
Sense: upon, over, on account of, above, to, against.
דִּ֥י  than 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: דִּי  
Sense: who, which, that mark of genitive.
חֲזֵ֖ה  it  usually 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine singular
Root: חֲזָה  
Sense: to see, behold.
לְמֵזְיֵֽהּ  was  heated 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֲזָה  
Sense: (P’al) make hot, heat.