Daniel 3:16-18

3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, ¹  “We do not need to give you a reply ²  concerning this. 3:17 If ³  our God whom we are serving exists, ⁴  he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well. 3:18 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.”

Matthew 10:28

10:28 Do ⁵  not be afraid of those who kill the body ⁶  but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ⁷ 

Luke 12:4-7

12:4 “I ⁸  tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, ⁹  and after that have nothing more they can do. 12:5 But I will warn ¹⁰  you whom you should fear: Fear the one who, after the killing, ¹¹  has authority to throw you ¹²  into hell. ¹³  Yes, I tell you, fear him! 12:6 Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? ¹⁴  Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. 12:7 In fact, even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; ¹⁵  you are more valuable than many sparrows.

[3:16]  ¹ tc In the MT this word is understood to begin the following address (“answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar’”). However, it seems unlikely that Nebuchadnezzar’s subordinates would address the king in such a familiar way, particularly in light of the danger that they now found themselves in. The present translation implies moving the atnach from “king” to “Nebuchadnezzar.”

[3:16]  ² tn Aram “to return a word to you.”

[3:17]  ³ tc The ancient versions typically avoid the conditional element of v. 17.

[3:17]  ⁴ tn The Aramaic expression used here is very difficult to interpret. The question concerns the meaning and syntax of אִיתַי (’itay, “is” or “exist”). There are several possibilities. (1) Some interpreters take this word closely with the participle later in the verse יָכִל (yakhil, “able”), understanding the two words to form a periphrastic construction (“if our God is…able”; cf. H. Bauer and P. Leander, Grammatik des Biblisch-Aramäischen, 365, §111b). But the separation of the two elements from one another is not an argument in favor of this understanding. (2) Other interpreters take the first part of v. 17 to mean “If it is so, then our God will deliver us” (cf. KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB). However, the normal sense of ’itay is existence; on this point see F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 45, §95. The present translation maintains the sense of existence for the verb (“If our God…exists”), even though the statement is admittedly difficult to understand in this light. The statement may be an implicit reference back to Nebuchadnezzar’s comment in v. 15, which denies the existence of a god capable of delivering from the king’s power.

[10:28]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[10:28]  ⁶ sn Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.

[10:28]  ⁷ sn See the note on the word hell in 5:22.

[12:4]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:4]  ⁹ sn Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.

[12:5]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “will show,” but in this reflective context such a demonstration is a warning or exhortation.

[12:5]  ¹¹ sn The actual performer of the killing is not here specified. It could be understood to be God (so NASB, NRSV) but it could simply emphasize that, after a killing has taken place, it is God who casts the person into hell.

[12:5]  ¹² tn The direct object (“you”) is understood.

[12:5]  ¹³ sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36).

[12:6]  ¹⁴ sn The pennies refer to the assarion, a small Roman copper coin. One of them was worth one sixteenth of a denarius or less than a half hour’s average wage. Sparrows were the cheapest thing sold in the market. God knows about even the most financially insignificant things; see Isa 49:15.

[12:7]  ¹⁵ sn Do not be afraid. One should respect and show reverence to God (v. 5), but need not fear his tender care.