The Meaning of Daniel 3:16 Explained

Daniel 3:16

KJV: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

YLT: 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.

Darby: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer thee in this matter.

ASV: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer thee in this matter.

Discover Daniel 3:16

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Daniel 3:16?

MEANING: What does Daniel 3:16 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Daniel 3:16 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Daniel 3:16?

What is the context of Daniel 3:16?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we [are] not careful to answer thee in this matter.

What does Daniel 3:16 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The three young men told the king that they did not need to give him an answer. "We" is emphatic in the original text and implies a contrast with Yahweh. God would give the king an answer. Perhaps they meant that Nebuchadnezzar should have had no question about their loyalty to him. They did not need to argue that. Surely the king knew that their faith prohibited them from worshiping any god but Yahweh. They were known to be Jews ( Daniel 1:6-7).

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 3:16 mean?

answered Shadrach Meshach and Abed-nego and said to king the Nebuchadnezzar no have need we in this matter to answer you

עֲנ֗וֹ שַׁדְרַ֤ךְ מֵישַׁךְ֙ וַעֲבֵ֣ד נְג֔וֹ וְאָמְרִ֖ין לְמַלְכָּ֑א נְבֽוּכַדְנֶצַּ֔ר לָֽא־ חַשְׁחִ֨ין אֲנַ֧חְנָה עַל־ דְּנָ֛ה פִּתְגָ֖ם לַהֲתָבוּתָֽךְ

עֲנ֗וֹ	answered
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine plural Root: עֲנָה Sense: to answer, respond.
שַׁדְרַ֤ךְ	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.
מֵישַׁךְ֙	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.
נְג֔וֹ	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.
וְאָמְרִ֖ין	and said
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural Root: אֲמַר Sense: (P’al) to say, to speak, to command, to tell, to relate.
לְמַלְכָּ֑א	to king the
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular determinate Root: מֶלֶךְ Sense: king.
נְבֽוּכַדְנֶצַּ֔ר	Nebuchadnezzar
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר Sense: the great king of Babylon who captured Jerusalem and carried Judah captive.
לָֽא־	no
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle Root: לָא Sense: no, not, nothing.
חַשְׁחִ֨ין	have need
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural Root: חֲשַׁח Sense: (P’al) to need, have need n.
דְּנָ֛ה	this
Parse: Pronoun, masculine singular Root: דְּנָה Sense: this, on account of this adv.
פִּתְגָ֖ם	matter
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: פִּתְגָם Sense: command, work, affair, decree.
לַהֲתָבוּתָֽךְ	to answer you
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct, second person masculine singular Root: תּוּב Sense: to return, come back.

What are the major concepts related to Daniel 3:16?

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Similar Scriptures for Daniel 3:16

		Daniel 1:7 [3]
		Daniel 3:12 [2]