Then answered Sedrach, Misach and Abdenago and said to king Nabuchodonosor, We have no need to answer you concerning this matter.
Read Chapter 3
Hippolytus of Rome
AD 235
These three youths are an example to all faithful men, inasmuch as they did not fear the crowd of satraps, neither did they tremble when they heard the king’s words, nor did they shrink when they saw the flame of the blazing furnace, but deemed all men and the whole world as nothing, and kept the fear of God alone before their eyes.
These three youths have become an example to all faithful men, inasmuch as they did not fear the crowd of satraps, neither did they tremble when they heard the king's words, nor did they shrink when they saw the flame of the blazing furnace, but deemed all men and the whole world as nought, and kept the fear of God alone before their eyes. Daniel, though he stood at a distance and kept silence, encouraged them to be of good cheer as he smiled to them. And be rejoiced also himself at the witness they bore, understanding, as he did, that the three youths would receive a crown in triumph over the devil.
In the Hebrew [i.e., Chaldee] original there is no vocative "King" (A) as there is in the Septuagint, lest they should seem to address the ungodly man with servile flattery or to term him a king who was |38 trying to force them to wickedness. But if it be contended that the reading, "O king!" should be included, then we may say that the youths were not impudently challenging the king to shed their blood but rendering him due honor so as to avoid injury to the true religion of God. But as for their statement. "We ought not to render thee answer concerning this matter," the meaning is: "Thou hast no need to hear words from men whose bravery and firmness thou wilt presently test by actual deeds."
