The Meaning of Daniel 3:12 Explained

Daniel 3:12

KJV: There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

YLT: 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, any regard; thy gods they are not serving, and to the golden image thou hast raised up -- are not making obeisance.'

Darby: There are certain Jews whom thou hast appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: these men, O king, regard thee not; they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image that thou hast set up.

ASV: There are certain Jews whom thou hast appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

There are  certain  Jews  whom  thou hast set  over  the affairs  of the province  of Babylon,  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and Abednego;  these  men,  O king,  have  not  regarded  thee:  they serve  not  thy gods,  nor  worship  the golden  image  which thou hast set up. 

What does Daniel 3:12 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The charge was disregarding the king"s command concerning pledging allegiance by bowing before the image. This constituted proof that the three Jews did not worship the king"s gods and were not loyal to him.
"In situations like this, no crime is greater then nonconformity, yet that is exactly what God asks of us when the things of the world are arrayed against the things of God ( Romans 12:1-2)." [1]
Many Israelites worshipped idols in Palestine, and Moses had predicted that they would worship them in exile ( Deuteronomy 4:27-28), but these young men were as scrupulous about their observance of the Mosaic Law as Daniel. For them, death was preferable to disobedience. Nebuchadnezzar"s gods were responsible for his success, according to Mesopotamian thinking, and to disregard them was tantamount to repudiating Nebuchadnezzar.
"The Chaldeans" attack, and Nebuchadnezzar"s reaction, suggests that they saw the Jews" stance as involving both disloyalty (as if it were the king"s statue) and impiety (as if it were a god"s). Whatever the nature of the statue, it held religion and state together." [2]
The term "Jew" usually appears as a pejorative term, as here, wherever it occurs in the Old Testament. It is a term that the Israelites" enemies used to describe them (cf. Daniel 6:13).
The absence of reference to Daniel here raises questions. Had he worshiped the image? Was he away on government business, was he occupied with pressing matters, or was he ill and unable to attend the ceremony? Did he enjoy such an exalted position or such favor with the king that these Chaldeans dared not accuse him? The writer did not explain this mystery. It was the response of Daniel"s three Hebrew friends that he wanted to stress. It seems safe to assume that if Daniel had been present, he would have responded as his three friends did.
"Those who had proven themselves loyal at the royal court in Babylon would have been exempt from the ceremony. Thus Daniel did not have to appear at the gathering because he had been with Nebuchadnezzar at the royal court." [3]
"God does not test all of His children at the same time or in the same manner." [3]

Context Summary

Daniel 3:1-18 - Loyalty Severely Tested
The king, at the close of the foregoing chapter, acknowledged the supremacy of Daniel's God, yet here he erects an image to Bel and to himself, demanding divine honor. Probably there was state policy in this. In so heterogeneous an empire of peoples, nations, and languages, there could be no unity but in universal prostration before one and the same object. Nineteen years had elapsed since the recovery of the lost dream. In that period successful wars had been waged and vast treasures accumulated which made this vast expenditure possible. Imagine the assembled myriads, the glittering array of princes, satraps, viceroys, statesmen, and priests, the grouped bands, and in the background the furnace. The three youths could not have stood alone amid the prostrate throng, had they not been supported by a living faith in the God of their fathers, Hebrews 11:33-34. They would not argue, but they could die, if God willed. Their attitude must be taken and maintained altogether apart from any expectation of deliverance. Our God whom we serve is able-and He will. [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 3:12 mean?

[There] are certain Jews whom you have set - over the affairs of the province of Babylon Shadrach Meshach and Abed-nego men these not have paid due regard - to you king regarded - your gods not they do serve or image gold the which you have set up Nor worship -
אִיתַ֞י גֻּבְרִ֣ין יְהוּדָאיִ֗ן דִּֽי־ מַנִּ֤יתָ יָתְהוֹן֙ עַל־ עֲבִידַת֙ מְדִינַ֣ת בָּבֶ֔ל שַׁדְרַ֥ךְ מֵישַׁ֖ךְ וַעֲבֵ֣ד נְג֑וֹ גֻּבְרַיָּ֣א אִלֵּ֗ךְ לָא־ שָׂ֨מֽוּ [עליך] (עֲלָ֤ךְ) מַלְכָּא֙ טְעֵ֔ם [לאלהיך] (לֵֽאלָהָךְ֙) לָ֣א פָלְחִ֔ין וּלְצֶ֧לֶם דַּהֲבָ֛א דִּ֥י הֲקֵ֖ימְתָּ לָ֥א סָגְדִֽין ס

אִיתַ֞י  [There]  are 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אִיתַי  
Sense: there is, there are.
גֻּבְרִ֣ין  certain 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: גְּבַר  
Sense: a man, a certain (one).
יְהוּדָאיִ֗ן  Jews 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: יְהוּדָי  
Sense: Jew.
דִּֽי־  whom 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: דִּי  
Sense: who, which, that mark of genitive.
מַנִּ֤יתָ  you  have  set 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: מְנָה  
Sense: to number, reckon.
יָתְהוֹן֙  - 
Parse: Adverb, third person masculine plural
Root: יָת  
Sense: (mark of the direct object or the accusative and not translated).
עַל־  over 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל  
Sense: upon, over, on account of, above, to, against.
עֲבִידַת֙  the  affairs 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: עֲבִידָה  
Sense: work, service, ritual, worship.
מְדִינַ֣ת  of  the  province 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: מְדִינָה  
Sense: district, province.
בָּבֶ֔ל  of  Babylon 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּבֶל  
Sense: Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates.
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.
גֻּבְרַיָּ֣א  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural determinate
Root: גְּבַר  
Sense: a man, a certain (one).
אִלֵּ֗ךְ  these 
Parse: Pronoun, common plural
Root: אִלֵּךְ  
Sense: these, those.
שָׂ֨מֽוּ  have  paid  due  regard 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שִׂים  
Sense: to set, make, appoint.
[עליך]  - 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
(עֲלָ֤ךְ)  to  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
מַלְכָּא֙  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular determinate
Root: מֶלֶךְ  
Sense: king.
טְעֵ֔ם  regarded 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: טְעֵם  
Sense: decree, taste, judgment, command.
[לאלהיך]  - 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
(לֵֽאלָהָךְ֙)  your  gods 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אֱלָהּ  
Sense: god, God.
פָלְחִ֔ין  they  do  serve 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: פְּלַח  
Sense: to serve, worship, revere, minister for, pay reverence to.
וּלְצֶ֧לֶם  or  image 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: צְלֵם  
Sense: image, idol.
דַּהֲבָ֛א  gold  the 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular determinate
Root: דְּהַב  
Sense: gold.
הֲקֵ֖ימְתָּ  you  have  set  up 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: קוּם  
Sense: to arise, stand.
לָ֥א  Nor 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: לָא 
Sense: no, not, nothing.
סָגְדִֽין  worship 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: סְגִד  
Sense: to prostrate oneself, do homage, worship.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation