Azariah’ s prayer for reconciliation
1 [a] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego[b] walked around in the flames, singing hymns to God, blessing the Lord. 2 While standing and praying in the middle of the fire, Azariah spoke like this:
3 Blessed are you,
Lord God of our ancestors.
You deserve to be praised
and honored forever!
4 Everything you’ve done to us is fair.
All your actions are right,
your ways consistent;
all your decisions are sound.
5 You judged us fairly
in all the things you’ve done to us
and to Jerusalem,
our ancestors’ holy city.
You were honest and fair
in doing all these things
to us because of our sins.
6 We sinned and broke the law
by turning from you;
we sinned in everything we did.
7 We didn’t obey your commands;
we didn’t keep them or do as you ordered us,
although the orders were
for our own good.
8 All that you’ve brought upon us,
all that you’ve done to us,
has been fair.
9 You handed us over to our enemies, immoral rebels who hate God’s laws,
and to an unjust king, the most evil one in the whole world.
10 Now there’s nothing that we can say.
Shame and blame cover your servants and those who worship you.
11 For the sake of your own reputation,
please don’t hand us over permanently!
Don’t set aside your covenant!
12 Don’t turn your mercy away from us! Hold to it
for the sake of Abraham,
whom you loved,
and Isaac, your servant,
and Israel, your holy one.
13 You told them
you would give them descendants,
as many as the stars of the sky
and the grains of sand beside the sea.
14 Look, Lord, we have become smaller than any other nation.
We are disgraced now in front of everybody because of our sins.
15 In this time we have no ruler
or prophet or leader,
no entirely burned offering or sacrifice, no special gift or incense,
no place to bring gifts to you
and find mercy.
16 Accept us, please, with our crushed souls and humble spirits,
as if we brought entirely burned offerings of rams and bulls,
as if we brought tens of thousands
of fat lambs.
17 May this be the kind of offering we make in your presence today,
and may we follow you completely,[c]
since no shame will come to those who come to terms with you.
18 Now we follow you with our hearts,
honor you, and seek your presence.
19 Don’t put us to shame!
Instead, deal with us in line
with your kindness and great mercy.
20 As you have worked wonders before,
so rescue us now!
Build up your reputation, Lord!
21 Let all who mistreat your servants
be humiliated.
Let them be put to shame
and lose all their authority;
may their strength be smashed.
22 Let them know that you alone
are the Lord God,
more honored
than anyone else in the world.
Heating the fire
23 Now the king’s aides, who had thrown them into the furnace, were constantly feeding the fire with petroleum, tar, kindling, and dry sticks. 24 Flame shot out of the furnace to a height of more than seventy feet, 25 spreading out and burning the Babylonians who stood near the furnace. 26 But the Lord’s angel came down among Azariah and his friends and waved the fiery flames out of the furnace. 27 He made the middle of the furnace seem like a cool breeze was blowing through it. The fire didn’t touch them at all; it didn’t hurt or upset them.
Hymn of the three young men
28 Then with one voice the three began singing hymns, praising and blessing God right there in the furnace. They said:
29 Blessed are you,
Lord God of our ancestors.
You are worthy of praise and raised high above all others forever.
Blessed is your glorious
and holy reputation,
worthy of praise and raised high above all others forever.
30 Blessed are you in your glorious,
holy temple,
worthy of hymns and honored
above all others forever.
31 Blessed are you,
sitting on the winged creatures,
looking down into the farthest depths,
worthy of praise and raised high above all others forever.
32 Blessed are you on your royal throne,
worthy of hymns and raised high
above all others forever.
33 Blessed are you in the dome of the sky,
worthy of hymns
and honored forever.
34 All works of the Lord, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
35 Heavens, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
36 Angels serving the Lord, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
37 All you waters above the sky,
bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
38 All you heavenly powers,[d] bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
39 Sun and moon, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
40 Stars of the sky, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
41 Rainstorms and dew, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
42 All you winds, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
43 Fire and burning, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
44 Cold and heat, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
45 Dew drops and falling snow,
bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
46 Nights and days, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
47 Light and darkness, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
48 Ice and winter, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
49 Frost and snow, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
50 Lightning and clouds, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
51 Let the earth bless the Lord.
Let it sing hymns and lift God high above all others forever.
52 Mountains and hills, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
53 All you things that grow in the earth, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
54 Oceans and rivers, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
55 Running waters, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
56 Sea monsters and all you things that swarm in the water, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
57 All birds of the sky, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
58 Wild and tame animals, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
59 You human beings, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
60 Israel, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
61 Priests, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
62 You who serve the Lord, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
63 Spirits and souls of good people,
bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
64 You people who are holy and have humble hearts, bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever.
65 Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael,
bless the Lord,
sing hymns, and lift God high
above all others forever,
because he rescued us from
the grave,[e]
and saved us from death.
God pulled us out of the middle
of the scorching furnace,
and pulled us out
of the middle of the fire.
66 Tell people that the Lord is good,
because his mercy lasts forever.
67 All you who worship the Lord,
the God of gods, bless him,
sing hymns, and tell people
that God’s mercy lasts forever!
Footnotes
- Prayer of Azariah 1:1 Appears in Gk between Dan 3:23 and 3:24
- Prayer of Azariah 1:1 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego equal Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Dan 1:7).
- Prayer of Azariah 1:17 Gk uncertain
- Prayer of Azariah 1:38 Gk lacks heavenly.
- Prayer of Azariah 1:65 Gk Hades