Daniel 3:5
That in the hour that you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, and of the flute, and of the harp, of the sackbut, and of the psaltery, and of the symphony, and of all kind of music; ye fall down and adore the golden statue which king Nabuchodonosor hath set up.
Open Daniel 3:5 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →In the palace
The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- in hora qua audieritis sonitum tubæ, et fistulæ, et citharæ, sambucæ, et psalterii, et symphoniæ, et universi generis musicorum, cadentes adorate statuam auream, quam constituit Nabuchodonosor rex.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ᾗ ἂν ὥρᾳ ἀκούσητε φωνῆς σάλπιγγος, σύριγγός τε καὶ κιθάρας, σαμβύκης καὶ ψαλτηρίου καὶ παντὸς γένους μουσικῶν, πίπτοντες προσκυνεῖτε τῇ εἰκόνι ⸆ τῇ χρυσῇ ᾗ ἔστησεν Ναβουχοδονοσὸρ ὁ βασιλεύς·
- Hebrew (WLC)
- בְּעִדָּנָ֡א דִּֽי תִשְׁמְע֡וּן קָ֣ל קַרְנָ֣א מַ֠שְׁרוֹקִיתָא קיתרוס סַבְּכָ֤א פְּסַנְתֵּרִין֙ סוּמְפֹּ֣נְיָ֔ה וְכֹ֖ל זְנֵ֣י זְמָרָ֑א תִּפְּל֤וּן וְתִסְגְּדוּן֙ לְצֶ֣לֶם דַּהֲבָ֔א דִּ֥י הֲקֵ֖ים נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּ֥ר מַלְכָּֽא
Haydock's commentary
Symphony. This and several other terms seem taken from the Greek, though the scythara and sambuca came originally from Chaldea. (Calmet)
Down. This and offering incense were sometimes considered as marks of idolatry; so being present at the sermons and churches of Protestants was a sign of joining in their communion, being required for that purpose. (Worthington)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St Augustine The Correction of the Donatists, Chapter 2
8. As then the apostle says, "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, not being weary in well-doing," so let all be called to salvation, let all be recalled from the path of destruction, those who may, by the sermons of Catholic preachers; those who may, by the edicts of Catholic princes; some through those who obey the warnings of God, some through those who obey the emperor’s commands. For, moreover, when emperors enact bad laws on the side of falsehood, as against the truth, those who hold a right faith are approved, and, if they persevere, are crowned; but when the emperors enact good laws on behalf of the truth against falsehood, then those who rage against them are put in fear, and those who understand are reformed. …
St John Chrysostom The Commentary and Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Galatians and Ephesians, Ephesians 4:1,2
Let us learn not to sink under affliction, nor to repine; for look at this blessed saint. He had been scourged, and sorely scourged, for it is said, “When they had laid many stripes upon them.” He had been bound too, and that again sorely, for the jailor cast him into the inner ward, and with extraordinary security. And though he was in so many perils, at midnight, when even the most wakeful are asleep with sleep, another and a stronger bond upon them, they chanted and sang praise unto the Lord. What can be more adamantine than these souls? They bethought them how that the holy Children sang even in fire and furnace. ( Dan. iii. 1-30 .) Perhaps they thus reasoned with themselves, “we have as yet suffered nothing like that.”
St Gregory Nazianzen Funeral Oration on the Great S. Basil, Bishop of Cæsarea in Cappadocia
74. Do you praise the courage of Elijah in the presence of tyrants, and his fiery translation? Or the fair inheritance of Elisha, the sheepskin mantle, accompanied by the spirit of Elijah? You must also praise the life of Basil, spent in the fire. I mean in the multitude of temptations, and his escape through fire, which burnt, but did not consume, the mystery of “the bush,” and the fair cloak of skin from on high, his indifference to the flesh. I pass by the rest, the three young men bedewed in the fire, the fugitive prophet praying in the whale’s belly, and coming forth from the creature, as from a chamber; the just man in the den, restraining the lions’ rage, and the struggle of the seven Maccabees, who were perfected with their father and mother in blood, and in all kinds of tortures. Their endurance he rivalled, and won their glory.