Acts 5:23

⁴He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord^[+] will have them in derision.

¹⁰The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.

⁵⁵I called on your name, LORD, out of the lowest dungeon. ⁵⁶You heard my voice: “Don’t hide your ear from my sighing, and my cry.” ⁵⁷You came near in the day that I called on you. You said, “Don’t be afraid.” ⁵⁸Lord, you have pleaded the causes of my soul. You have redeemed my life.

³⁷Who is he who says, and it comes to pass, when the Lord doesn’t command it?

¹¹and whoever doesn’t fall down and worship shall be cast into the middle of a burning fiery furnace. ¹²There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not respected you. They don’t serve your gods, and don’t worship the golden image which you have set up.”

¹³Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. Then these men were brought before the king. ¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar answered them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods and you don’t worship the golden image which I have set up? ¹⁵Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, good; but if you don’t worship, you shall be cast the same hour into the middle of a burning fiery furnace. Who is that god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. ¹⁸But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”

¹⁹Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his appearance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰He commanded certain mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. ²¹Then these men were bound in their pants, their tunics, and their mantles, and their other clothes, and were cast into the middle of the burning fiery furnace. ²²Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ²³These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the middle of the burning fiery furnace.

²⁴Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished and rose up in haste. He spoke and said to his counselors, “Didn’t we cast three men bound into the middle of the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.”

²⁵He answered, “Look, I see four men loose, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are unharmed. The appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.

²²My God has sent his angel, and has shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me, because innocence was found in me before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.”

²³Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

²⁴The king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, their children, and their wives; and the lions mauled them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they came to the bottom of the den.

¹⁹But an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors by night, and brought them out and said,

¹²When they were assembled with the elders and had taken counsel, they gave a large amount of silver to the soldiers, ¹³saying, “Say that his disciples came by night and stole him away while we slept. ¹⁴If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him and make you free of worry.” ¹⁵So they took the money and did as they were told. This saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continues until today.

⁶³saying, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise again.’ ⁶⁴Command therefore that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest perhaps his disciples come at night and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He is risen from the dead;’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”

⁶⁵Pilate said to them, “You have a guard. Go, make it as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone.

⁵⁹Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by.