Глава 3

Daniel 3:1. In the year of Osmonah, King Nebuchadnezzar created a body of gold: and placed it in the city of Deira, in the land of Babylon. Our good and humane Lord, as the Creator and Maker, “wants to be saved by all mankind and to come into the understanding of truth” (1 Tim. 2:4), and does not want “the death of a sinner, before he should turn and live” (Ezek. 18:32); therefore he arranges everything for our salvation. But those who suffer from insensibility, enslaved by the incurable passion of arrogance, do not derive any benefit from divine medicines, but are likened to some sick people who turn away from the healing offered to them by the medical art, indulging in intemperance and great disorder, and daily increasing the illness from which they suffer. Such was this arrogant king. When the God of all showed him immeasurable love for mankind, and after many iniquities and great wickedness offered him healing, showed him the fragility and vanity of real prosperity, the height and celebrity of virtue, which makes the captives forced to bear the yoke of slavery glorious; This king was immediately surprised at the wisdom of the Prophet, and confessed that his God is the God of all. But after a little time he returned to himself, like “a dog on his vomit.” (2 Pet. 2:22), as the divine Scripture says, he builds a “golden body”, sixty cubits in height, and six cubits in breadth, and placing it on the plain, so that it rises equally above everything, and is equally visible to everyone, he commands all his subjects to worship it. This act is not just arrogant, but downright godless and God-hating. Because God showed him in a dream a great body composed of four substances, and through this revealed to him the succession of the four kingdoms; then, opposing his arrogance to God, he himself arranges the body, giving it such a magnitude that only human art could give. But the pitiful king does not make it from gold, silver, copper and iron, but prepares it from one substance, from gold, thinking by this to show the falsity of God’s prophecies. And therefore blessed Daniel, interpreting the dream, said that the golden head is he, that is, the kingdom of Babylon or Assyria, and the other parts of the body from other substances are the kingdoms following the head; then he himself makes the whole body out of gold. Daniel 3:2. Gathered all the governors, lords, locums, leaders, tormentors, and those in power, and all the princes of the countries, to come to renew the idol that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. All this shows extreme pride; The king did not just call any of his subjects to the idol festival, but local governors and leaders, those who were entrusted with the administration of the regions, or any other authority legitimized by them. And at the beginning this calling seemed somehow ordinary, but later the cruel intention of the calling was revealed. For when everyone had gathered, the Prophet said: Dan.3:4. Preacher crying with strength, you are spoken of peoples, peoples, tribes, nations. Dan.3:5. At this hour, if you hear the voice of a trumpet, pipes, and harps, sambiks and psalteries, and accords, and all kinds of music, fall down and worship the body that Nebuchadnezzar made king. Dan.3:6. And if anyone does not fall down and worship, in that hour he will be thrown into a furnace burning with fire. So this wretched one admired for himself, as he thought, divine honor, and was dissatisfied with the fact that his subjects bowed to him, but he legitimized the worship of this idol, and amazes everyone with the substance, art, and size of this idol, seduces and attracts with the sound of a weighty kind of musical instruments, and those who were not amazed by the size of the idol were not attracted by the sounds and pleasantness Musikian guns, he intimidates them, threatening the dog. And in the reasoning of all the others, he successfully achieved his intention; for I saw that everyone who fulfilled the command was out of habit servile to fear and pleasure. Only the blessed youths, who in slavery preserved their fatherly nobility undefiled, Ananias, Azariah and Misail, refused to worship; but they did not hide from the Chaldeans living in wickedness, who wanted to have everyone as accomplices in wickedness. Therefore, they immediately approach the king, remind him of the established law, which clearly commands all subjects to bow to the idol, and those who refuse to do so are threatened with a cave, and announce these sacred men, saying: Daniel 3:12. The essence of the men of Judah, whom you have placed over the affairs of the land of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, those men, “did not obey your commandment to the king.” By this they show their envy and ignite the anger of the king, making it clear, and as if saying: look who you preferred to us, to whom you entrusted the Babylonian state. They did not even want to think of the greatness of honor and become grateful to the one who honored; but they turned the greatness of honor into a reason for dishonor, directly opposing your laws and not agreeing to carry out your orders. And this is not the only way to see their arbitrariness and ingratitude; and in another way you can find out that they are not doing anything decent to their subjects. Those whom you honor as gods, they do not honor, and they do not render due service to the gods whom you worship; they have clearly renounced the worship of the idol that was given to it by all those under your control. Having heard this, this king, damaged in his mind, having forgotten what he had said to Daniel: “In truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings,” takes the men out on Wednesday and asks: do they really not want to participate with him in serving the gods, and refuse to worship the idol? Then he advises and exhorts to do this, intimidating with the threat of committing to fire. For he says: Daniel 3:15. If you do not worship, in that hour you will be cast into a burning furnace. Then he dares to commit unspeakable and brutal blasphemy. Who is God, whom you will pluck out of my hand? So soon he began to blaspheme the One Whom he himself confessed! and about Him whom he called the God of gods, he assumed that He was weaker than man! Whom he called the Lord of kings, this wretched one boasts of overcoming him! But such insolence was inherited from his ancestors: because Sennacherib, having approached Jerusalem with a great army, expressed himself in the message of Hezekiah in these words: Let not your God deceive you, in whom you trusted, to deliver Jerusalem from my hands. Have the gods of the nations delivered each one his own country from my hand? Where is the god of Hamath? where is the god of Arfaf? where is the god of the city of Sepfarim? were you able to deliver Samaria from my hand? much more will the Lord deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? But he soon and immediately accepted payment for his blasphemy, and many thousands of warriors were killed by a single Angel, while he himself, having escaped and reached his fatherland, was killed by those born to him. Since the tongue has moved towards the Creator, it accepts death from people born by Himself. But even this example did not curb the tongue of Nebuchadnezzar, and this dream, which showed the succession of kings, did not teach this king to be chaste; On the contrary, he continues to rage against the Creator. But God does not attack him with an Angel, as against Sennacherib, but with three captive youths, forced to live on a foreign side, drawn by the yoke of slavery, in the very spring of life, young in age. They, having heard his fury and insane blasphemy, were immediately filled with anger and jealousy, answered and said to the king: Dan.3:16. You don’t need us to tell you about this verb, that is, the question you proposed to us is unnecessary. Whatever thoughts we held, we still hold to, and we will not change them at all because of your threats. Dan.3:17. There is our God, the One we serve, who is powerful, take us out of the burning furnace, and deliver us from the hand of your king. Who would not justly be amazed at these blessed young men’s courage, wisdom, piety, truth in observing the laws and chastity in all things? The very fact that they were not horrified by such a tormentor, who rose up against them, one might say, with the entire human race, and by this huge fire, which was not only threatened in words, but which was before their eyes, testifies to the firmest adamantine of their courage. And the fact that God’s laws were preferred to real life, does it leave behind any greater measure of truth? Their chastity is proclaimed by the fact that they did not use daring expressions before the king, and also did not disgrace their family by timidity. Their piety contrasted their evil and blasphemous speech with prudence and wisdom. The king said: “Who is God, whom you will pluck out of my hand?” They cried out: “There is our God in heaven, whom we serve, who is able to take us out of the burning furnace and deliver us from the hand of kings.” Do not think that our God is like your gods. You rightly neglect them, as having received their existence from matter and art. And our God, the Creator of heaven, earth and everything, has power, which is shown by visible things. For His power over that which is above the visible is inconvenient to be seen by those who are not initiated into the divine. Honoring Him, we await the help He sends. He is able to deliver us from your hands and from the fiery furnace you have prepared. What was said after this exceeds any measure of courage and love of God. For, having said: “There is our God in heaven, whom we serve, who is able to take us out of the burning furnace, and to deliver us from the hand of the king to the king,” they immediately added: Daniel 3:18. Otherwise, let it be known to you, the king, that we will not serve as your god, and we will not bow down to the golden body that you set up. We do not work for our Master out of reward, but, wounded by devotion and love, we prefer serving our God to everything else in the aggregate. Therefore, we do not unconditionally ask for deliverance from disasters, but we love the economy and industry of the Lord, and without knowing what is good for us, we allow the Helmsman to rule wherever He pleases. For we know truly that He is able to free us from threatening evils; but whether He wants to do this is unknown to us, but we leave this to the Ruler as the wise one, and accept the determination with the confidence that it is for our benefit. Therefore, whether our God will deliver us or not; we refuse to bow to your idol and your gods. You will have to fight with such and such souls. Fight as you wish, you will neither attract with honors nor terrify with threats; because God is the most lovable and terrible thing for us. What is higher than these verbs? It is appropriate to apply the apostolic word to them: “for this reason let us pray, as we ought, without knowing” (Rom. 8:26). But the bestial and frantic tormentor, filled with rage, so that his face showed spiritual confusion, ordered the furnace to be heated as much as possible, and ordered the holy men to be tied up, and in order not to slow down the punishment in the least by removing their clothes and shoes, he ordered them to be put on fire with all this, that is, “with mud, and blankets and boots.” Gashchi (ϭ αράβαρα) is a type of Persian clothing, and “covers” of headbands; and by boots (περικνημἱ ϭ) the Prophet means the so-called underwear, or outer leather wrappers, or leather shoes. Thus the holy men are bound and consigned to the fire. And the king, to speed up and shorten the matter, ordered them to be burned; and God’s grace builds a new sacrament in this; because the fire, as usual, resolved the iron shackles placed on them, and kept their highly inflammable clothes unharmed. Those who denounced the holy men and ministers of the evil command and those who stood outside were consumed by the fire; but he could not approach the most holy ones; but, having fled from those in the cave, he rushed at his worshipers, as if to punish them for the servants of the Lord. The preachers of piety enjoyed such safety and coolness inside the cave that they walked on the coals as if on some roses. Daniel 3:24. Hozhdah, it is said, sings to God in the midst of the flames and blesses the Lord. And this serves as proof of their high wisdom. For it is said that they did not ask for deliverance from trouble, but glorified the One who gave such a definition about them, and vouchsafed them this wonderful confession. You can see the similarities between the Old Testament and the New Testament. For the blessed Apostles Peter and John, having received wounds from the host of Pharisees, went out “rejoicing, because for the name of Jesus they were counted worthy to receive dishonor” (Acts 5:41). And the divine Paul, together with Silas, after the wounds inflicted on them by the soldiers in Philippi, being in prison, with treasures tied to his feet, “at midnight,” as it is said, “praying at the waist of God” (Acts 16:25). So these blessed youths, rejoicing in the cave, continued to compose a divine song. And first Azariah, becoming a common mouth, and showered with waves of flame, as it is said, Daniel 3:23. He opened his mouth in the midst of the fire, saying Daniel 3:26. Blessed are you, Lord God, our father, and praised and glorified is your name forever. Who will marvel at how much wisdom there is in this beginning of the song? Not in prosperity and well-being, when life flows calmly, but in a hot oven, Azariah praises the God of all, and calls Him the God of the fathers, both showing the modesty of his way of thinking, and thus proclaiming the virtue of the fathers. We sing songs of praise to You, O lord, he says; we sing songs of praise, having such fathers that You deigned to be called their God. For You said to Your servant Moses: “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Ex. 3:6). This name of Yours is “praised and glorified, not” at one appointed time, but throughout all ages. Dan.3:27. For you are righteous towards all, as you have done for us, Let us sing songs to You, says Azariah, knowing the truthfulness of Your judgment. For Your decree is true and just, according to which You commanded us to be in enslavement and away from our own. And all Thy works are true, and rule Thy ways, and judge all Thy truths, Daniel 3:28. And you created true destinies for all that you brought upon us, and upon the city, our holy father Jerusalem: for by truth and judgment you brought all this sin upon us for our sake. Everything said by Azariah contains the same idea, but he expressed it differently, hymning God’s truthful judgment, and not giving any place to ingratitude. Therefore, having mentioned Jerusalem, calling it the holy city, calling it the city of the chosen fathers, he immediately added the reason for the punishment. All this, he says, You brought upon us for our sins. Dan.3:29. For having sinned and committed lawlessness, having departed from You. It is not in vain, he says, that You handed over the city, which You Yourself sanctified, to the enemies, and allowed us to become captives, but because “we have sinned and are lawless, having departed from You.” It is very expressively said: “from You,” that is, from the Creator and Creator, the good Lord, Nourisher and Guardian, Who freed from Egyptian slavery, divided the sea, led through the abyss, striking into the dry the stone, flowing water from it, supplied all the other benefits counted in Scripture. Therefore we have sinned by departing from You. We have transgressed not this or that commandment, but all Your commandments. Daniel 3:30. And we have disobeyed the commandments of Your law, we have failed to keep them, we have failed to comply with them, as You have commanded us, that it may be good for us. And here again he showed the superiority of piety and wisdom. For he says: keeping the laws and commandments brought You, the Lawgiver, nothing, but brought us an abundance of benefits. This is why You decreed these laws, giving us the means of salvation. So, we have transgressed greatly, says Azariah, Daniel 3:31. All the great things you have brought upon us, and all the great things you have done to us, you have created true judgment. Punishment is deserved by sin. Then, showing what it consisted of, he adds: Daniel 3:32. And thou hast delivered us into the hands of the lawless, the enemies, the apostates: and to an unrighteous king, and to the most wicked one more than all the earth. You betrayed us, because we did not please You, our King, but despised Your goodness; then he forced us to work for a cruel, ferocious king, who does not know justice at all, whose subjects are like the king in guile. However, having been subjected to so many calamities, we are deprived of all boldness, and shame prevents us from turning to You with a request. For Azariah understands this when he says: Daniel 3:33. And now it is impossible for us to open our mouths, cold and wear them by Thy servants and those who honor Thee. However, we, reproached, ridiculed and mocked by our enemies, are called Your servants, and we beg You, for the sake of the name of Your sovereignty entrusted to us, show Your power to our opponents, and do not completely alienate us from Your providence. Daniel 3:34. For the sake of Thy name, do not betray us to the end, and do not destroy Thy covenant. Daniel 3:35. And do not leave Your mercy from us. We dare to say this, says Azariah, having many guarantees of Your goodness; and, firstly, the very name of Your dominion, then the immeasurable mercy with which You rule over everything, and beyond this, Your covenants with our fathers; because You promised them that you would make their family famous and glorious. After this he mentions the names of the fathers, with this mention of the righteous he bows to the mercy of the good Lord, and says: Abraham for Thy beloved's sake, and for Thy servant Isaac, and Thy holy Israel, Daniel 3:36. To whom you said: I will multiply your seed like the stars of heaven, and like the sand of the sea. To them, whom You loved, O Lord, and made most revered, You promised this, that their race would be compared with sand in multitude, and would be like the stars in splendor, height and glory. Then Azariah compares the events with the promises and says: Dan.3:37. For the Lord, we have humbled ourselves above all others, and we are humble throughout the whole earth today. And in order not to show that he accuses these promises of falsity, he immediately added, saying: It was not You, Master, who broke the promises, but we broke the covenant, and having, according to the promise, been numerous and outnumbering everyone, “for our sin,” we became few in number. For Azariah made this clear when he said: “We have fainted.” He did not say: we are small and few in number in comparison with all nations; but “we fell short,” that is, we outnumbered them according to Thy promise, but having transgressed Thy commandments, from being numerous, we became few in number. Then he reveals to God the misfortune that weighs on them, not explaining this to someone who does not know, but by describing the sorrows, inclining Him to love for mankind. Daniel 3:38. And at this time there was no prince, and prophet, and leader, We have been deprived of the kingdom, prophecy, priesthood, Thy divine and great gifts, under the control of which we spent our lives. below the burnt offering, below the sacrifice, below the offering, below the censer, And showing the reason why it is impossible to make sacrifices, he immediately added: There is no place to devour before You, Daniel 3:39. and find mercy: Your law limited the sacrificial priesthood to one place, and it is obvious lawlessness to offer sacrifices in another place. The Jews do not want to hear this, but, closing their eyes and stopping their ears, they dare to do everything illegally. The removed youths, knowing the purpose of the law, said that there is “no place to devour” before God, “and find mercy.” And because, says Azariah, it is not possible to achieve this for those who are far from that holy city; then we have invented a certain way of serving You, Lord. but with a contrite soul and a humble spirit Bringing You a petition, “we beseech you that we may be accepted.” Daniel 3:40. As in the burnt offerings of rams and young ones, and as in the darkness of the fat lamb: so may our sacrifice be before You this day, and may it be accomplished for You, as there is no cold for those who trust in You. Because Your law does not allow you to offer legal sacrifices in every place; then, instead of sheep and bulls and countless lambs, we offer You a contrite and humble heart, and we beg that this would be more pleasant for You than any sacrifice; because it is Your custom to free those who trust in You from all shame. This was not just spoken by this holy man, but taught by the Prophet David, who in the fiftieth psalm says: “For even if you wanted sacrifices, you would have given them: you will not be pleased with burnt offerings. The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit: God will not despise a contrite and humble heart” (Psalm 50:18.19). And he also says on behalf of God: “Eating yam meat yuncha? or do I drink the blood of goats? Devour the sacrifice of praise to God, and render your prayers to the Most High: and call on Me in the day of your sorrow, and wear you out, and glorify Me” (Ps. 49:13-15); and after a few words: “The sacrifice of praise will glorify Me, and there I will show him My salvation” (Ps. 49:23). This divine man, taught this, asked to accept a contrite heart instead of any sacrifice. Then he adds: Daniel 3:41. And now we follow You with all our hearts, and we fear You, and we seek Your face. Daniel 3:42. Don't disgrace us. Many disasters have made us completely different; they have taught the transgressors of Your commandments to fear and seek You with all their hearts. Azariah called the “face” of God here favor, the return of freedom, the renewal of care, using which one could see both God’s church and the services performed there, in which, as they imagined, the incorporeal and invisible God was visible. Because of the punishment You made such a change in us; then Daniel 3:42. Do not disgrace us, but deal with us according to Your meekness, and according to the abundance of Your mercy. Daniel 3:43. Change us according to Your miracles, and give glory to Your name. For this, grant us mercy and philanthropy; because it is usual for You to have mercy, to show long-suffering to everyone; Your will is accompanied by power. The miracles You constantly perform testify to this. And do what is done to us, so that Your name will be hymned, not only by us who are saved, but also by those who see our salvation. Therefore, “give glory to your name, Lord.” Daniel 3:44. And let all who are evil servants of Yours be put to shame, and let them be ashamed of all power, and let their strength be broken. Dan.3:45. And let them understand that You are the only Lord God, and glorious throughout the entire universe. When you show us this love for mankind; the insolence of those who resist will disappear, their fury will fade away, their high opinion of themselves will be crushed, and they will know that You are the only Lord and God, worthy of the song of the whole universe, and those who now worship many gods will know the powerlessness of their gods, and will worship Your power. So those thrown into the cave rejoiced; the servants of the king and the accusers of the saints did not stop throwing flammable substances and boasting, and graves, and oil into the fire; this was used in that country as capable of intensifying the flame. And so much food was delivered to the blazing fire that Dan.3:47. The flame spilled over lactium fourty-nine, and burned the approaching Chaldeans. And those standing outside kindled the flame, but the Angel of God scattered the flame, and caused the fire to generate and spread from itself to the bodies of the saints a certain coolness and a moderately moist breeze, which gave the saints great pleasure. For it is said: Daniel 3:50. And make the middle of the cave, like the spirit of dew rustling: and fire will not touch them at all, and do not offend them, below the cold. But, looking at this, let no one belittle the deeds of the saints, but let him remember these sacred words: “There is a God in heaven, Whom we serve, who is able to take us out of the burning furnace and deliver us from the hand of the king.” and: “Be that as it may, let it be known to you, the king, that we do not serve your God, and we do not bow to the golden body that you set up.” Therefore, these holy youths disdained that flame, not having this end in mind, but expecting their own death. The hero rewarded them as He pleased, and put these wicked people to shame, and made them glorified. So, having been vouchsafed this salvation, the blessed and blessed youths, even those who were blessed many times over, already allowed more than one to sing songs to God, but according to what was said, Daniel 3:51. As with one mouth I will bow and glorify God and bless in the cave, contrasting his beautiful agreement and wonderful chant with the agreement and the Musikian instruments before the idol, and showing that not worshiping the idol is more useful than worshiping it. They begin their song like this: Daniel 3:52. Blessed art thou, O Lord God of our father, and praised and exalted unto the ages, and blessed be the name of Thy holy glory, and praised and exalted unto the ages. These are the words of the most fiery and unsatisfied love! Those wounded by “this” love are looking for names that could express the dignity of the hymned One, and not finding them, they strengthen them with applications that signify superiority, calling “exalted” and “exalted”, not only Himself, but also the name of His glory. They are beautifully called everywhere the Lord and God of the fathers, recognizing that they themselves are not worthy of this name. Daniel 3:53. Blessed art thou in the church of Thy holy glory, revered and exalted forever. The remembrance of God’s church cannot be erased from them; and as faithful guardians of the law, they perform prayer according to the law, and seem to say: looking at this church, where Thy glory usually appeared, we lift up this hymn to Thee. For even if he is burned a thousand times, he will always participate in Your holiness. And so that no one thinks that they limit the place to the incorporeal and infinite God, they necessarily add: Daniel 3:51. Blessed are you on the throne of Your kingdom, praised and exalted forever. Then, showing who is called the throne, they add immediately after this: Dan.3:55. Blessed are you who see the deep, who sits on the Cherubim, and is revered and exalted forever. And because this church also had images of cherubim in the Holy of Holies; so that those who hear do not suffer any harm from this, and do not think that God is limited, heal the listener, saying: Daniel 3:56. Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven, praised and exalted forever. You are everywhere, they say, you fill everything and contain all creation. Thus, by chanting, they call to communication in hymn every created nature, both rational, irrational, and inanimate. For they say: Dan.3:57. Bless all the works of the Lord the Lord, sing praises and exalt Him forever. And they are not content with this general calling, but call on each creature separately, and not only visible creatures, but also the invisible nature. For they say: Daniel 3:58. Bless the Angels of the Lord, sing and exalt Him forever. And in order not to extend the words to extremes, when talking about each calling, let’s say that they call for rejoicing (59) the sky, (60) “the waters that are above the heavens,” and (61) the powers surrounding the throne of God; they call upon (62) the sun and the moon, and (63) other luminaries, even not only what is in the sky, but also what happens in the air, (64) rain, dew (65) and the winds; then the opposite “qualities”, (67) “cold and heat;” then, in the aggregate, nature and its action, (66) “fire and war;” because fire is the name of nature, and “var” is not the essence, but the action of fire. They call (68) dew and frost, (71) ice and frost, (72) “sludge and snow,” (73) lightning and clouds, as related to each other, and close in origin; then (69) nights and days, and what produces them (70) light and darkness; because the former are names, and the latter is powers and things; it is said: “God calls light day, and calls darkness night” (Gen. 1:5). For although darkness is a shadow, and not an essence, it is nevertheless something that happens and produces night. For it is said: “bless the lightning and the clouds,” some as giving birth, and others as foretelling birth; and the Prophet says: “Create lightning in the rain” (Psalm 139:7). So, having mentioned that in the sky, and in the air, and everything he commanded, to sing songs, with a call to sing songs they turn to the common mother earth, and say: Daniel 3:74. May the earth bless the Lord, may it sing and exalt Him forever. Daniel 3:75. Bless the mountains and hills of the Lord. After this, earthly works are called upon. Daniel 3:76. Bless all that vegetates on the earth of the Lord. Then the irrigation they require. Daniel 3:77. Bless the springs of the Lord. Since the sea and rivers belong to the lower part; then, out of necessity, they made mention (78) of them. They also mention those fed by the sea. For they say: Daniel 3:79. Bless the whales and everything that moves in the waters of the Lord. After this they call upon (80) birds, (81) animals and cattle, and (82) the last of all, human nature, observing in this the order of the universe; because blessed Moses wrote that first the trees were brought into existence by the word of God, then the generations of floating creatures were produced, besides them and with them the nature of birds flying in the air, and after them animals and cattle, and finally man. Having called upon human nature to sing, they again command separately to sing songs to the Creator. And before all others, the children of Israel are commanded to do this (83), but they are also subdivided more than once, and the priests are included in the first row (84), since they are entrusted with the divine service. Then, in order to avoid the idea that the hymn is being limited to the priests alone, they add”: Daniel 3:85. Bless the Lord's servants, sing and exalt to all ages, as if to say: it is possible for the Master to work with zeal for one who does not have the priesthood. They also preach the resurrection; for they say: Daniel 3:86. Bless the souls and souls of the righteous Lord, that is, the spiritual souls of the righteous, who have risen above human passions and have received the grace of the Spirit. Then they call upon those who have acquired some kind of virtue, and say: Daniel 3:81. Bless the venerable and humble heart of the Lord: because those who have been delivered from untruth and have a humble way of thinking can please God and offer a decent song. They listed all this not for the sake of vanity, but, firstly, inflaming love for the Lord, and reminding themselves of the untold blessings of the human race that existed at the beginning of creation. For with these words they express: we sing and extol You, because You do good to us through the Angels, for our sake You created the sky, You illuminate the day with the sun, You temper the darkness of the night with the moon and teach us the measures of time. We sing praises to You, because for us You have strewn the sky, like a meadow, with stars; You saturate our gaze with these flowers that never fade, and during their course You give us the means to know the measure of the night. And who will praise You with dignity, looking at the changes of the annual seasons, at the changeability of daily circulations, at the beneficial heat that occurs in the summer? Then, seeing the cooling blows of the winds, the cold in winter, the rain brought and everything happening harmoniously and in order, lightning foretelling rain, clouds generating rain, mountains and plains decorated with fields and groves, flowing springs bringing irrigation to plants, rivers flowing continuously and not stopping their flow, the sea lying in the middle - the cause of friendship and like-mindedness, a common place that accepts mutual agreements both? And without talking about everything in detail, first the blessed ones mentioned all this, expressing their own gratitude and by remembering good deeds, wanting to make the song more fiery, and then trying to convince those listening outside the Chaldeans that the elements they worship are the creatures of the God of all. Therefore, they clearly mention fire and water, the sun and moon, heaven and earth, wanting to convince the foolish to stop worshiping the visible, to recognize the common Lord of all, and to pay due honor to Him. For it is likely that those who saw this great miracle, who saw the victory won over the fire, and their own and their king’s shame, and the salvation and boldness of these captive youths, heeded the teaching of piety taught in the chant. So those who sang finally add: Daniel 3:88. Bless Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael the Lord, sing and exalt Him forever. So they considered themselves the last in creation, humiliated above all people. Such was Blessed Paul, who says: “To me, the least of all saints, was this grace given” (Eph. 3:8); and in another place: “Christ came into the world to save sinners, and of them I am first” (1 Tim. 1:15). And of sinners he calls himself the first, and of saints he calls himself last. So these blessed ones call themselves last to sing praises to the Lord and exalt Him forever. Then they describe a miracle. As if we were taken away from hell, and saved from the hand of death; because by human judgment we were denied all benefits. Deliver us from the midst of burning flames, and deliver us from the midst of fire. Therefore (89) “confess the Lord, for He is good, for His littleness endures forever.” For who can surpass in kindness and goodness the one who showed so much mercy in what happened to us? And those who have demonstrated such virtue in themselves say that they have received salvation through grace. Then, since we mentioned above only the sons of Israel, they call on everyone, including among the pagans who live piously and try to please God. Daniel 3:90. Bless all who worship the Lord God of gods, sing and confess, for His mercy endures forever, and in the age of centuries. Trying to show the boundlessness of God’s goodness, and being overcome by it, they repeatedly repeat the word: centuries. This was the song that amazed the bestial and cruel king! He rose from the royal throne and was ready to go to them, and instead of three he sees four rejoicing in the cave; and says to his nobles: Daniel 3:91. Are there not three husbands bound in the midst of fire? Daniel 3:92. And behold, I see four men loosed, and walking in the midst of fire, and there is no corruption in them, and the form of the fourth is like the son of God. What indescribable patience! Rightly the holy youths cried out: “For His mercy endureth unto all ages,” and unto the age of ages. For this one, who acted with such cruelty and arrogance, who attempted to snatch divine honor for himself, to brutally punish God’s servants, leads to piety, and he reveals His miraculous power, and makes visible to him the Angel sent to help the saints. First of all, he amazes him with the number, showing four instead of three; then the release of the fetters; because I saw the bound ones resolved; finally salvation; for he says: there is no corruption in them. Therefore, horrified and having humbled his arrogance, he comes and says: Daniel 3:93. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, servant of the Most High God, come forth and come, and Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego came up from the midst of the fire. This vain one, who said: “Who is God, whom you will pluck out of my hand?” - I learned that there is a God whose power is indescribable, who commands fire to show in the saints a quality opposite to its nature. Whom he did not recognize as God, he knew that He was God and the Most High God. When the saints came out of the cave, all the princes, and locum tenens, and commanders were amazed that the bodies of the saints were kept unharmed, and their very hair did not feel any effect from the flame, and not only the hair, but also the very clothes and shoes turned out to be intact, so that not even the smell of the fire remained in them. Then Nebuchadnezzar, who saw this, sang songs and said: Daniel 3:95. Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, even His messenger angel, and His children took away, because they trusted in Him: and they changed the word of the king, and gave up their bodies, so that they would not serve or worship any other god, but their own God. Always recognizing God's power through experience, this vain person consigns miracles to oblivion. He did the same with the divine Daniel, rising up, “bowing down” to him, and ordered “gifts and incense to be poured out to him” (Dan. 2:46). So now, having seen the salvation of these saints, he sings praises to God and is amazed at these men because they have changed the word “the king’s change,” as he says, and preferred pious death to illegal life. And now, here he says, Daniel 3:96. I command a commandment: all people, tribe, language, whoever speaks blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, and Meshach, and Abednego, will be destroyed, and their households will be plundered: for there is no other God who can deliver this. And of course, I learned this through experience. For, having destroyed the churches of many so-called gods, plundered the treasuries, plundered the altars and put their priests to death, he did not experience any divine action. When he dealt with these people who had dedicated themselves to God with furious fury; then I saw the boundless power and indescribable patience of God; because God preserved His servants unharmed, and He was not immediately punished for fury, but as one who remained in wickedness, He soon punished several, and then, as soon as he resorted to repentance, He honored His love for mankind. Daniel 3:97. Then make Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego king in the land of Babylon, and make them great: and make them worthy of the eldership of the Jews of all who are in his kingdom. The Lord has such providence for those who try to please Him; and these holy youths rightly cried out; “for there is no cold for those who trust in Thee” (40). Therefore, we also acquire this hope, preferring the Creator and Ruler to all creation. May these blessed youths be a useful example for us, a model of piety, leaders to God and to what God gives to the worthy. May we all receive this, through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ! With Him glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto ages of ages! Amen. Daniel 3:98. Nebuchadnezzar is king, to all the people, nations and languages ​​of all the earth, peace be upon you. I consider it not superfluous to first state the content and reason for this message, and then proceed to interpretation. Nebuchadnezzar, having taken possession of all of Asia, brought Egypt into subjection and conquered the Ethiopians adjacent to Egypt, treated his subjects extremely cruelly and ferociously, and reached such arrogance that he thought of himself that he was higher and more powerful not only than the so-called gods, but also the true God. This unsatisfied pride of his is shown not only by the godly wise Daniel, but also by the divine Prophet Isaiah, or better to say, the God of all himself, through the mouth of the Prophet, speaking thus: “Woe to the Assyrians, the rod of My wrath, and My wrath is in their hand: I will send My wrath on the wicked tongue, and I will command My people to create self-interest and captivity, and trample down the cities, and put me in the dust" (Isaiah 10:5,6). And this means: the Assyrians, the doers of countless evils, are worthy of tears for Me. However, I will use them as ministers to punish sinners, and, like a kind of punishing rod, I will send them against the wicked, and not only against other people, but also against those who are called My people. Because of the great wickedness and iniquity of My people, I will destroy their cities with the hands of these Assyrians and cause them to gather gain in the cities. Therefore, having used the king of Assyria as a kind of executioner, I will punish the lawful through him. “But this one,” the Prophet said, “do not think like this: neither do I think like this in my soul: but his mind recedes, and his tongues are no small. And if they say to him, “Are you the only prince?” I have taken this, and I will take away all the dominion" (Is. 10: 7-10). The Prophet then revealed the arrogance of the king; then he foretells the disasters that will befall Jerusalem, and shows the reasons for this punishment. For he says: “Weep, you that are graven in Jerusalem, and in Samaria: as I have made Samaria and her with hands, so will I do both to Jerusalem and to her idol” (Is. 10:10, 11). We know that the Assyrian king Sennacherib did not defeat Jerusalem, but Nebuchadnezzar, having moved the capital to Babylon, and, after the destruction of Nineveh, making it a royal city, took up arms against Judea, and having devastated Jerusalem, he destroyed most of its inhabitants, and took the rest as captives. Why, from this it is clear that the Divine Scripture knows one kingdom of Assyria and Babylonia; but it is not difficult to find out this from what is added. For the Prophet says: “And it will come to pass, when the Lord has finished all that he has done in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, that the Lord will bring upon the prince of Assyria a great mind, and upon the height of glory in his eyes” (Is. 10:12). Jerusalem was punished by God not through Sennacherib, who reigned among the Assyrians, but through Nebuchadnezzar. For Sennacherib not only did not plunder the cities, but, having destroyed the entire army, fled alone and was killed at home by his sons. And Nebuchadnezzar took the city and burned the church of God, and led the people into slavery. So the Divine Scripture teaches us that after the end of “the Lord has done everything in Mount Zion, and everything in Jerusalem”, which he threatened, saying: “Weep, the graven image in Jerusalem. Just as I made Samaria and her made with hands, so I will make Jerusalem and her idol,” “the Lord will bring” according to what was said, “the Lord to a great mind, to the prince of Assyria;” and calls him prince, not Babylonian, but Assyrian; because there is one kingdom of both. He calls him a great mind for the height and arrogance of his plans. Why does he rightly add: “and” “to the height of the glory of his eyes.” And he did not just say: “his glory,” but “the glory of his eyes,” that is, being a man, he imagines himself exalted and very great. With my hand I will take up like a nest, and like an abandoned egg I will take up: and there is no one who will run away from me or speak against me” (Is. 10:13, 14). Thus, having discovered the arrogance of the thoughts of the king of Assyria, the Prophet denounces the vanity of his thoughts, and shows that none of what he did would have happened if God had not allowed and wanted to punish the wickedness of those who suffered from him for this. Therefore, it is very opportune to add: “Is the ax of food glorified without cutting it, or will the saw be lifted up without a sword?” (Is. 10:15). Just as it is not possible, says God, for an ax, or a saw, or a rod to move by itself; because each of these tools then works when someone takes it in hand and wants to set it in motion: so you, because My providence allowed you, did everything that you did because of the iniquity of those who suffered from you. Therefore, do not think that you did this with your own wisdom and strength. If you don’t want to find out this sensibly and humble your arrogant arrogance, then you will find out through experience that this is really so. For “the Lord of hosts will bring dishonor on your honor, and the fire of grief will kindle on your glory” (Is. 10:16). And in another place, God, like this, says to the Prophet: “And you received this lament against the king of Babylon, and said on that day: Why do you torture the king and force the king? God crush sinners with a yoke, with a yoke of princes, striking the tongue with fury, an incurable plague” (Is. 14: 4-6). Then he shows the joy of the universe and says: “The whole earth rejoiced, and the trees of Lebanon rejoiced because of you, and the cedar of Lebanon: although you lay down, do not cut us down” (Is. 14:7, 8). He says this allegorically, and calls the cedars of Lebanon either the people of Israel, who were famous and glorious, or those distinguished by the height of their rank and those who received royal power from God. And after a few words, ridiculing the arrogance of the king of Babylon, and showing the humiliation of arrogance, the Prophet says: “How did the morning star fall from heaven?” Contrite on earth, send your tongue to everyone. But you have said in your mind: I will ascend to heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven, I will sit on the highest mountain, on the high mountains even to the north: I will ascend above the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Is. 14:12-14). Then he shows the fragility of human well-being and says: but you, who dared to think this, “will go down to hell and to the foundations of the earth.” Those who have seen you will be amazed at you, and they will say: this man has provoked the earth, shaken the kings, laid down the earth all empty, and the cities of its scattering, have not had mercy on the captives. “All the kings of the tongues have rested in honor, each one in his own house: but you will be cast down in the mountains, like a vile dead man, with many dead men cut with the sword, going down into hell” (Is. 14:15-19). But so that, by citing all the prophecies about Nebuchadnezzar, I do not prolong the time, both those who are listening now and those who will read in the future, if they want to know his arrogance and cruelty, by referring to the prophecies themselves, I will return the word to the real subject. So the God of all, desiring to bring this king to piety, repeatedly gave him many saving medicines, and first, in the second summer of his reign, showed him this body in a dream, and by forgetting the dream made him need a Prophet; and in the interpretation of the dream he precisely revealed to us the succession of kings, showing the short duration and fragility of human well-being. And the king immediately felt the benefit, and gave Daniel exorbitant honor; because he commanded, as God, to bring him incense and a libation. And after a little time again, he erected this idol, forced all his subjects to worship him, and betrayed those who preferred piety beyond measure to the hot furnace. But the good Lord, again showing patience, did not punish him for arrogance and brutality, but showed him Divine power, delivering the zealous servants from that flame. He, having again received little benefit from this, praises the God of all, and threatens with extreme punishment those who utter something blasphemous against Him. But soon, without hesitating for long, in the same year, having again consigned this greatest miracle to oblivion, he takes up arms against Jerusalem, destroys the walls of the city, burns the holy church of God, encroaches on its sanctuary, and, as spoils of war, having stolen all the offerings, he takes them with captives to Babylon. And that he was up in arms at this time, this is also shown by blessed Jeremiah, saying this: “the word that came from the Lord to Jeremiah in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, that year was awarded to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon. And the strength of the king of Babylon laid a fort around Jerusalem” (Jer. 32:1, 2). Blessed Daniel also designated this year when he set out the legend about the idol: “in the year of the reign of Osmonah, King Nebuchadnezzar created a body of gold” (Dan. 3:1). From this it is clear that at the beginning of the year he demanded worship of the idol, then, having sent an army in advance, he followed him; took possession of Jerusalem in the eleventh year of Zedekiah's reign and in the nineteenth of his reign. Therefore, since this pitiful one did not derive any benefit for himself from all this, the God of all, being indignant, first frightens him with a dream, and then through Daniel makes clear to him what is meant by the dream. And at the same time, he does not suddenly impose punishment on him, but gives him advice and admonition through Daniel, and endures for a whole year, waiting for repentance. When he did not want to turn long-suffering into any kind of medicine for himself, he sent the disasters that he had threatened. He is not simply punished, but his arrogant mind, dreaming of what is above his nature, strikes him with insanity and frenzy. Then he arranges that Nebuchadnezzar, having become like beasts, is driven out and lives for a long time in empty places; and after this, according to God’s dispensation, he comes to the consciousness of the disasters that have befallen him; because it would not be possible for him to benefit from this, being completely unconscious and insensible. Thus, lifting up his eyes, he recognizes the rapid vicissitudes of life, bitterly mourns his own folly, and confesses that there is a non-successive kingdom of God that endures for all ages. Taught by this experience, according to God’s ineffable love for mankind, he again returned to his kingdom. And thinking that he would be wrong before all people if he concealed God’s providence for him, in his message he depicted to all his subjects in the universe both the previous prosperity and the misfortune that had befallen him, and then the repentance with which he appeased the Lord. Here is the content of the message. I stated it at length, having in mind the evidence of Scripture to prove the arrogance of Nebuchadnezzar, and wanting to make it obvious that God cares for everyone. Therefore, let us now begin a detailed interpretation. “Nebuchadnezzar is king unto all the people, nations, and tongues of all the earth, and peace be upon you.” It is appropriate to apply this prophetic saying to these words: “It is good for me, for you have humbled me, so that I may learn through your justification” (Ps. 119:71). And Nebuchadnezzar, taught by experience to be chaste, became a teacher of piety, and offers his own suffering as a cure to all people, not only his subjects, but also those existing outside his kingdom. He made this greeting beautifully and decently: “May peace be multiplied to you,” that is, I wish you not to experience the disasters that I experienced, to live enjoying the world. Then he adds: Daniel 3:99. The signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me, it would please me to announce to you before me. Having become a witness of the miracles of God, he says, I considered it fair to make all of you participants in the contemplation of them; because they are not any ordinary ones, but great and strong. Daniel 3:100. How great and strong is His kingdom: an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion endures forever. Everything human, whatever it may be, has an end, an end, a quick one. God's kingdom alone always continues and is unshakable. So, having indicated in advance the reason for the message, he begins the narrative in it.