The Fiery Furnace and the King’s Penance

At this time Nebuchadnezzar, puffed up by his success, set up a golden statue to himself of enormous size and ordered it to be worshiped as a sacred image. Everyone hurried to do so, for their minds had been corrupted by the flattery that was everywhere. But Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael kept away from the unholy rite, knowing well that such honor belonged to God alone. So, under the king’s decree, they were treated as criminals, and a fiery furnace was set before them as their punishment, so that terror of it there and then might force them to worship the statue. But they preferred to be swallowed up by the flames rather than commit such a sin. [a]

So they were bound and thrown into the middle of the fire. But the flames seized the men carrying out this wicked work as they eagerly forced the victims into the fire, while, wonderful to say, and indeed beyond belief to anyone but those who saw it, the fire did not touch the Hebrews at all. The onlookers saw them walking in the middle of the furnace and singing a song of praise to God, and with them was seen a fourth figure who looked like an angel. When Nebuchadnezzar came nearer and saw him more closely, he acknowledged him to be the Son of God. Then the king, no longer doubting that the power of God was present in what had happened, sent proclamations through his whole kingdom announcing the miracle and confessing that honor was to be paid to God alone.

Not long after, instructed by a vision that appeared to him and then also by a voice that came to him from heaven, he is said to have done penance by laying aside his royal power, withdrawing from all contact with people, and keeping himself alive on plants alone. Yet his empire was kept for him by the will of God until the time was fulfilled, and at last, having duly acknowledged God, he was restored after seven years to his kingdom and his former position.

After conquering Zedekiah, whom he carried away captive to Babylon, as we said above, he is reported to have reigned twenty-six years, though I do not find this recorded in the sacred history. Perhaps it happened that, while I was searching out many points, I came on this remark in the work of some unknown author, a work that had been added to over time and that contained the dates of the Babylonian kings. I did not think it right to pass the remark over, since it does in fact agree with the Chronicles, and so its account agrees with ours: through the succession of the kings whose dates the record gave, it makes up seventy years to the first year of King Cyrus, and that is exactly the number of years the sacred history says passed from the captivity to the time of Cyrus.