Daniel 3:18

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

But even if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.'

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְהֵ֣ן לָ֔א יְדִ֥יעַ לֶהֱוֵא־לָ֖ךְ מַלְכָּ֑א דִּ֤י לֵֽאלָהָךְ֙ לָא־אִיתַ֣נָא פָֽלְחִ֔ין וּלְצֶ֧לֶם דַּהֲבָ֛א דִּ֥י הֲקֵ֖ימְתָּ לָ֥א נִסְגֻּֽד׃ ס

Transliteration

But if wəhên not lāʾ, let it be yədîaʿ lehĕwêʾ-lāk, O malkāʾ, that to your lêʾlāhāk we will not ʾîthanāʾ pālḥîn, and to the tselem of dahăbāʾ which you have hăqêmtā we will not nisgud.

Grammar Details

• *wəhên*: conjunction + conditional particle - but if
• *lāʾ*: negative particle - not
• *yədîaʿ*: passive participle masculine singular - known
• *lehĕwêʾ-lāk*: preposition + imperfect 3rd masculine singular + preposition + 2nd masculine singular suffix - let it be to you
• *malkāʾ*: noun + definite article - the king
• *lêʾlāhāk*: preposition + noun + 2nd masculine singular suffix - to your god
• *ʾîthanāʾ*: 1st plural pronoun - we are
• *pālḥîn*: participle masculine plural - serving/worshiping
• *tselem*: noun - image/statue
• *dahăbāʾ*: noun + definite article - the gold
• *hăqêmtā*: perfect 2nd masculine singular - you set up
• *nisgud*: imperfect 1st plural - we will worship

Word Meanings

• *wəhên*: but if/and if
• *yədîaʿ*: known/acknowledged
• *lehĕwêʾ-lāk*: let it be to you/be it known to you
• *ʾîthanāʾ*: we are/we will be
• *pālḥîn*: serve/worship/revere
• *tselem*: image/statue/likeness
• *hăqêmtā*: set up/erected/established
• *nisgud*: we will worship/we will bow down

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the golden image which you have set up.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  And though he wil not, yet shalt thou knowe (o kynge) that we will not serue thy goddes, ner do reuerece to the ymage, which thou hast set vp.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  But if not, bee it knowen to thee, O King, that wee will not serue thy gods, nor worship the golden image, which thou hast set vp.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And though he will not, yet shalt thou knowe O king, that we will not serue thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set vp.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  And lo -- not! be it known to thee, O king, that thy gods we are not serving, and to the golden image thou hast raised up we do no obeisance.'

• American Standard Version (1901)

  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  But if not, be certain, O King, that we will not be the servants of your gods, or give worship to the image of gold which you have put up.

• World English Bible (2000)

  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  But if he does 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.”

Referenced Verses

• Josh 24:15 : 15 But if it seems undesirable to you to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve—whether the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.
• Matt 10:39 : 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
• Luke 12:3-9 : 3 Whatever you spoke in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you whispered in private rooms will be proclaimed from the rooftops. 4 I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body but can do nothing more afterward. 5 But I will warn you whom you should fear: Fear the one who, after killing, has the authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 8 I tell you, anyone who acknowledges Me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. 9 But whoever denies Me before others will be denied before the angels of God.
• Acts 4:10-13 : 10 'let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.' 11 'This is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which has become the cornerstone.' 12 'And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among humanity by which we must be saved.' 13 When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated, ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus.
• Acts 4:19 : 19 But Peter and John replied, 'Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge.'
• Acts 5:29-32 : 29 But Peter and the apostles replied, 'We must obey God rather than men.' 30 The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.
• Rev 2:10-11 : 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.
• Rev 12:11 : 11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
• Matt 16:2 : 2 He answered them, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.'
• Exod 20:3-5 : 3 You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
• Lev 19:4 : 4 Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.
• Job 13:15 : 15 Though He slay me, yet I will hope in Him. Nevertheless, I will defend my ways before Him.
• Prov 28:1 : 1 The wicked flee when no one pursues them, but the righteous are as confident as a young lion.
• Isa 51:12-13 : 12 I, I am the One who comforts you. Who are you that you should fear mortals who die, or humans who are like grass? 13 You have forgotten the Lord, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. You live in constant fear every day because of the anger of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy. But where is the fury of the oppressor?
• Dan 3:28 : 28 Nebuchadnezzar declared, 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him, defied the king’s command, and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
• Matt 10:28 : 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
• Matt 10:32-33 : 32 Therefore, everyone who acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies me before others, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.