Daniel 3:1
New International Version
King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

New Living Translation
King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

English Standard Version
King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

Berean Standard Bible
King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

King James Bible
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

New King James Version
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

New American Standard Bible
Nebuchadnezzar the king made a statue of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits, and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

NASB 1995
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

NASB 1977
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

Legacy Standard Bible
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

Amplified Bible
Nebuchadnezzar the king made a gold [-plated] image, whose height [including the pedestal] was sixty cubits (ninety feet) and its width six cubits (nine feet). He set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

Christian Standard Bible
King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue, ninety feet high and nine feet wide. He set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue, 90 feet high and nine feet wide. He set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

American Standard Version
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

Contemporary English Version
King Nebuchadnezzar ordered a gold statue to be built 27 meters high and nearly 3 meters wide. He had it set up in Dura Valley near the city of Babylon,

English Revised Version
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue 90 feet high and 9 feet wide. He set it up in a recessed area in the wall in the province of Babylon.

Good News Translation
King Nebuchadnezzar had a gold statue made, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and he had it set up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

International Standard Version
Some time later, king Nebuchadnezzar built a golden statue, making it 60 cubits high and six cubits wide. He set it up in the Dura Valley within the province of Babylon.

Majority Standard Bible
King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

NET Bible
King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden statue made. It was ninety feet tall and nine feet wide. He erected it on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

New Heart English Bible
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was eighty-eight feet seven inches, and its breadth eight feet ten inches: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

Webster's Bible Translation
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose hight was sixty cubits, and the breadth of it six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

World English Bible
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Nebuchadnezzar the king has made an image of gold, its height sixty cubits, its breadth six cubits; he has raised it up in the Valley of Dura, in the province of Babylon;

Young's Literal Translation
Nebuchadnezzar the king hath made an image of gold, its height sixty cubits, its breadth six cubits; he hath raised it up in the valley of Dura, in the province of Babylon;

Smith's Literal Translation
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold; its height sixty cubits, and its breadth six cubits: he set it up in the valley of Dura, in the province of Babel.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
King Nabuchodonosor made a statue of gold, of sixty cubits high, and six cubits broad, and he set it up in the plain of Dura of the province of Babylon.

Catholic Public Domain Version
King Nebuchadnezzar made a statue of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

New American Bible
King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden statue made, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, which he set up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

New Revised Standard Version
King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue whose height was sixty cubits and whose width was six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
NEBUCHADNEZZAR the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits; and he set it up in the plain of Dora, in the province of Babylon.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Nebukadnetsar the King, made one image of gold, its height sixty cubits, and its width six cubits, and he stood it in the plain of Dura in the land of Babel
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits; he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
In his eighteenth year Nabuchodonosor the king made a golden image, its height was sixty cubits, its breadth six cubits: and he set it up in the plain of Deira, in the province of Babylon.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Nebuchadnezzar's Golden Image
1King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up.…

Cross References
Exodus 32:4
He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”

2 Kings 17:16
They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves two cast idols of calves and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the host of heaven and served Baal.

2 Kings 18:4
He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.

Isaiah 44:9-20
All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame. / Who fashions a god or casts an idol which profits him nothing? / Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are only human. Let them all assemble and take their stand; they will all be brought to terror and shame. ...

Jeremiah 10:3-5
For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman. / They adorn it with silver and gold and fasten it with hammer and nails, so that it will not totter. / Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.”

Jeremiah 51:17-18
Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them. / They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish.

2 Chronicles 33:7
Manasseh even took the carved image he had made and set it up in the house of God, of which God had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever.

2 Chronicles 33:15
He removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, along with all the altars he had built on the temple mount and in Jerusalem, and he dumped them outside the city.

Deuteronomy 4:28
And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.

Psalm 115:4-8
Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. / They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; / they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; ...

Psalm 135:15-18
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. / They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; / they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths. ...

Acts 17:29
Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.

Romans 1:23
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Revelation 13:14-15
Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived. / The second beast was permitted to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship it to be killed.

Revelation 14:9-11
And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand, / he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. / And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”


Treasury of Scripture

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was three score cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

A.

Daniel 2:31,32
Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible…

Daniel 5:23
But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:

Exodus 20:23
Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.

in the province.

Daniel 3:30
Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.

Daniel 2:48
Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.

Esther 1:1
Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)

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Babylon Breadth Cubits Feet Gold Height High Hight Image Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnez'zar Nine Ninety Plain Province Raised Six Sixty Thereof Threescore Valley Width
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Babylon Breadth Cubits Feet Gold Height High Hight Image Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnez'zar Nine Ninety Plain Province Raised Six Sixty Thereof Threescore Valley Width
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.














King Nebuchadnezzar
The name "Nebuchadnezzar" is derived from the Akkadian "Nabû-kudurri-uṣur," meaning "Nabu, protect my heir." Nebuchadnezzar II was a historical figure, the king of Babylon from 605 to 562 BC. He is known for his military conquests and monumental building projects, including the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. In the biblical narrative, Nebuchadnezzar represents the epitome of earthly power and pride, often setting himself against the sovereignty of God. His actions in this chapter reflect the human tendency to elevate oneself above divine authority.

made a golden statue
The act of making a statue, especially one of gold, signifies the king's desire to assert his power and divine-like status. Gold, a symbol of wealth and divinity, suggests that Nebuchadnezzar sought to create an object of worship that would reflect his own glory. This act of idolatry is a direct challenge to the monotheistic faith of the Israelites, who were commanded to worship only Yahweh. Theologically, this sets the stage for a confrontation between human pride and divine sovereignty.

sixty cubits high and six cubits wide
A cubit is an ancient measurement roughly equivalent to 18 inches or 45 centimeters. Thus, the statue was approximately 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide. The dimensions emphasize the grandeur and imposing nature of the statue, designed to inspire awe and submission. The use of the number six, often associated with imperfection and human effort in biblical numerology, contrasts with the divine number seven, highlighting the flawed nature of human attempts to usurp God's glory.

and he set it up on the plain of Dura
The plain of Dura is believed to be a location near Babylon, though its exact site is uncertain. Setting the statue on a plain would make it visible from a great distance, symbolizing the reach and influence of Nebuchadnezzar's power. Historically, plains were often chosen for significant events or constructions due to their accessibility and visibility. This choice of location underscores the king's intention for the statue to be a focal point of worship and allegiance.

in the province of Babylon
Babylon, the heart of Nebuchadnezzar's empire, was a city renowned for its wealth, culture, and idolatry. It serves as a biblical symbol of human pride and rebellion against God. The province of Babylon represents the center of earthly power and opposition to God's kingdom. In the broader scriptural context, Babylon often symbolizes the world system that stands in contrast to the values of God's kingdom, setting the stage for the faithful to demonstrate their allegiance to God amidst worldly pressures.

(1) An image.--If this image was made after the manner described (Isaiah 44:9-20), the body was formed of wood, and the whole, when properly shaped, was covered with thin plates of gold. As the height of the whole is disproportionate to the width, it is probable that the height of the pedestal on which the image stood is included under the sixty cubits.

Plain of Dura.--The older commentators identified this place with various sites, some north, some east of Babylon. Recent discoveries place it nearer to Babylon, in a place still called by a similar name.

Verses 1-30. - THE GOLDEN IMAGE, AND THE FIERY FURNACE. Verse 1. - Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was three score cubits, and the breadth thereof air cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. The Septuagint Version is full of redundance and interpolation, "In the eighteenth year King Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled cities and countries, and all those dwelling (in them)over the earth from India even to Ethiopia, made a golden image; the height of it was sixty cubits, and the breadth of it six cubits, and set it up in a plain within the boundary of the province of Babylon." The reason for translating Dura "boundary, is natural enough, for the word. means something approximate to this. Theodotion begins in the same way, giving the date "the eighteenth year;" the place is ἐν πεδίῳ Δεειρᾷ, As for the rest, it is in agreement with the text of the Massoretes. The Peshitta follows a text that must have been identical with the Massoretic, as also does the Vulgate. The date inserted into the Greek Version is improbable. At that time, if we take the chronology of 2 Kings 25:8, Nebuchadnezzar was engaged in the siege of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was taken in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, after a two years' siege. In Jeremiah 52:29 we are told, however, that Nebuchadnezzar took eight hundred and thirty-two captives in his eighteenth year, and the difference between Babylonian and Jewish chronology suggests that the eighteenth year of Jeremiah 52. may be the nineteenth of 2 Kings 25 Against this is the fact that the month of the year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar is given (2 Kings 25:8), and this implies the adoption of the Babylonian chronology. It is certainly not to be expected that Nebuchadnezzar would traverse the long distance that separated him from his capital merely to erect a statue or obelisk. At the same time, we are told (Jeremiah 52:29), as we have mentioned above, that in the eighteenth year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar took eight hundred and thirty-two persons captive. This may be that he sent these prisoners by a convoy, for it is clear that a larger number of captives were taken when Jerusalem was captured than eight Hundred and thirty-two. They may have been taken during the progress of the siege, in sallies, etc. The number of prisoners taken in the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar does not suggest the great numbers that are implied in Ezekiel to be dwelling on the Chebar, otherwise we might be inclined to regard these differences from the received chronology as due to a different mode of reckoning. Even though the date given in Jeremiah 52:29 were the date of the capture of Jerusalem, it is not at all likely that the capture of an obscure city in the hill country of Judaea was an event on account of which a special thanksgiving would be given. The description of the empire of Nebuchadnezzar in the Septuagint is borrowed from Esther 1:1. In regard to this image, the statement that it is "golden" does not mean that it was solid gold, any more than the golden altar (Numbers 4:11) was entirely of gold (Exodus 30:1-3; Exodus 37:25, 26); that it was an "image" (tzelem) does not necessarily imply that it was a statue in the form of a human being. In Ezekiel 16:17 there are references to tzalmee zakar, which seem naturally to be phallus images. Hegel's opinion ('Æsthetik') was that the obelisk was really a modified phallus image. If that is so, then the proportions of this tzele are not extravagant for an obelisk. Moreover, these numbers, "sixty" and "six," are evidently round numbers, their mnemonic character maintaining their place. The real numbers might be anything near the number given; instead of "sixty," the real number might be not much over "fifty" cubits, and the "six" cubits the number given as the breadth, might be, without intentional deception, seven or eight cubits. The proportion, at all events, in the extreme case of fifty and eight cubits, would not be extraordinary, even for a statue. It might be a gilded statue on a lofty column. One other note may be added: 6 and 60, multiplied together, give 360, the number of the days in the Babylonian year. The division of the circle into 360 degrees is probably due to this Babylonian division of the year. In the plain of Dura. There are several places in Babylonia which may be identified with this (Schrader, 'Keilin-schriften,' 430). While it may be outside the wall of the city, this Dura may also have been within it; the Septuagint rendering favours thistly - ἐν πεδίῳ περιβόλου, It is remarked by Professor Fuller that districts within the city of Babylon have at times "Dun" as part of the name. Thus, "in Esarhaddon's inscriptions, Duru-suanna-ki is that part of Babylon which is elsewhere called Imgur-Bel, or wall of Babylon." This would confirm the view - Quatremere's - that Duru was within the city wall. Archdeacon Rose ('Speaker's Commentary,' ad loc.) refers to Oppert as having found near a spot named Duair the pedestal of a colossal statue, but gives no reference. On the fiat plains of Mesopotamia, this obelisk of a hundred feet high would be seen for nearly thirteen miles in every direction, and the gleam from its gilded top would be visible even further. What was the occasion of this image being set up? We have no means of even conjecturing. Certainly it was not merely to seduce the Jews again into idolatry. From the way Marduk (Merodach) is glorified in the inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar, the probability is that it was erected in his honour. Bishop Wordsworth ('Com. Daniel') thinks the statue was of Nebuchadnezzar himself, and quotes Lenormant ('Manuel d'Histoire Ancienne,' 1:237, trans, 1:486). Lenormaut, in the passage referred to, quotes an ins,,ription in which Nebuchadnezzar calls himself "the begotten of Marduk" From this Lenormant comes to the conclusion that, like Caligula in later times, Nebuchadnezzar demanded worship to be given to himself as a god. But when we turn back in this same book ('Manuel d'Histoire Ancienne,' vol. 1. p. 484, Engl. trans.), we find a number of statements of a similar kind which invalidate the emphasis which Lenormant would give to this. He calls Bilit Larpanit, "the mother who bore me;" Sin, "who inspires me with judgment;" Shamash, "who inspires my body with the sentiment of justice:" and so on. In saying he was begotten of Marduk, it is not as claiming the personal possession of the characteristics of divinity that Nebuchadnezzar made this statement, but as regarding himself to be the special instrument and favourite of the gods - a posture of mind quite compatible with the deepest and most real humility. Hippolytus and Jerome maintain the same view as Lenormant on a priori evidence. There is no contradiction between Nebuchadnezzar's ascription of praise to Jehovah as a God of gods and a Revealer of secrets, in Daniel 2:47, and his erection of this image to Merodaeh That Jehovah was a God of gods did not prevent Merodach being that also, and even greater.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
King
מַלְכָּ֗א (mal·kā)
Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 4430: A king

Nebuchadnezzar
נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּ֣ר (nə·ḇū·ḵaḏ·neṣ·ṣar)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 5020: Nebuchadnezzar -- a Babylonian king

made
עֲבַד֙ (‘ă·ḇaḏ)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5648: To do, make, prepare, keep

a golden
דְהַ֔ב (ḏə·haḇ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1722: Gold

statue
צְלֵ֣ם (ṣə·lêm)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6755: An idolatrous figure

sixty
שִׁתִּ֔ין (šit·tîn)
Number - common plural
Strong's 8361: Sixty

cubits
אַמִּ֣ין (’am·mîn)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 521: A mother, a cubit, a door-base

high
רוּמֵהּ֙ (rū·mêh)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7314: Altitude

and six
שִׁ֑ת (šiṯ)
Number - feminine singular
Strong's 8353: Six

cubits
אַמִּ֣ין (’am·mîn)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 521: A mother, a cubit, a door-base

wide,
פְּתָיֵ֖הּ (pə·ṯā·yêh)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6613: Open, width

and he set it up
אֲקִימֵהּ֙ (’ă·qî·mêh)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6966: To arise, stand

on the plain
בְּבִקְעַ֣ת (bə·ḇiq·‘aṯ)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 1236: A split, a wide level valley between mountains

of Dura
דּוּרָ֔א (dū·rā)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1757: Dura -- a place near Babylon

in the province
בִּמְדִינַ֖ת (bim·ḏî·naṯ)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 4083: A judgeship, jurisdiction, a district, a region

of Babylon.
בָּבֶֽל׃ (bā·ḇel)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 895: Babylon -- an eastern Mediterranean empire and its capital city


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OT Prophets: Daniel 3:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image (Dan. Da Dn)
Daniel 2:49
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