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Daniel 3:7
ESV Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
NIV Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
NASB Therefore as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, all the peoples, nations, and populations of all languages fell down and worshiped the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
CSB Therefore, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and every kind of music, people of every nation and language fell down and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
NLT So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
KJV Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

What does Daniel 3:7 mean?

Babylonian culture believed in many deities. They expected their subjects to have varied beliefs about which gods to worship. The idol created by Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3:1) represented the supremacy of Babylon and its religion over those of its subjects. In the king's mind, there was no reason for a person to refuse his command to worship the image (Daniel 3:2–6) unless they were refusing to submit to Babylon. Most of his subjects would have felt the same, with few objections to the order. Nebuchadnezzar was willing to admit the power of Daniel's God (Daniel 2:46–47) but had not come to worship the Lord as the One True God.

The musical cue for this act of worship was the playing of a wide variety of musical tools (Daniel 3:5). The previous list of instruments is repeated exactly here and will be used two more times in this passage (Daniel 3:10, 15). The repetition emphasizes the tight control and all-encompassing nature of Nebuchadnezzar's decrees.

Under threat of execution, those present at the dedication ceremony kowtow and worship the manmade object. However, some resisted. Daniel's three friends (Daniel 1:6–7) will soon be accused of disobeying the king's order, a charge they openly admit (Daniel 3:12, 16–18). Daniel is not mentioned in this incident. It's plausible that he was not present, or that the jealous court advisors were too afraid to challenge him (Daniel 2:48). What's implausible is that Daniel chose to dishonor God by committing idolatry (Daniel 1:8; 6:5–10).

In the end-times tribulation period, another despot will command everyone to worship an image. Those who comply with the command will receive a mark on the right hand or forehead that will allow them to buy and sell. Many who refuse to worship the image will die (Revelation 13:11–17).
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