¹ King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden ²  statue made. ³  It was ninety feet ⁴  tall and nine feet ⁵  wide. He erected it on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, ¹  trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must ²  bow down and pay homage to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has erected.

You have issued an edict, O king, that everyone must bow down and pay homage to the golden statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music.

Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods and that you don’t pay homage to the golden statue that I erected?

But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

and in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man. ¹  He was dressed in a robe extending down to his feet and he wore a wide golden belt ²  around his chest.

The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this: ¹  The seven stars are the angels ²  of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

In ¹  a circle around the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on those thrones were twenty-four elders. They were ²  dressed in white clothing and had golden crowns ³  on their heads.

Then ¹  I looked, and a white cloud appeared, ²  and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man! ³  He had ⁴  a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

Now ¹  the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, ²  and adorned with gold, ³  precious stones, and pearls. She held ⁴  in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things and unclean things from her sexual immorality. ⁵ 

After the king had consulted with his advisers, ¹  he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people, ²  “It is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

Therefore when they all ¹  heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, ²  and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations, and language groups began bowing down and paying homage to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected.

But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – and these men ¹  have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

The king called out loudly ¹  to summon ²  the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed ³  to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple ⁴  and have a golden collar ⁵  placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.

However, I have heard ¹  that you are able to provide interpretations and to decipher knotty problems. Now if you are able to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, you will wear purple and have a golden collar around your neck and be third ²  ruler in the kingdom.”

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus, ¹  write the following: ²  “This is the solemn pronouncement of ³  the one who has a firm grasp on ⁴  the seven stars in his right hand ⁵  – the one who walks among the seven golden ⁶  lampstands:

and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders threw themselves to the ground ¹  before the Lamb. Each ²  of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints). ³