Grammar and Theology in Daniel 3:16–18

The tense standoff between Nebuchadnezzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego reaches its climactic moment in the final response from the three friends in Dan 3:16–18. The grammar of the passage has presented a challenge to translators and interpreters through the centuries because the most evident reading of the passage suggests an objectionable theological stance by the friends, in which they imply the possibility either of their God’s nonexistence or His inability to rescue them. In this article, I survey the main ways this passage has been translated and interpreted and then suggest a new translation and interpretation that is grammatically and theologically warranted.