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Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men 1

The Prayer of Azariah

₁The three young men, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, started walking about in the flames, singing hymns to God, and praising him as Lord. ₂Then Azariah stood still and there in the fire he prayed aloud: ₃“O Lord, the God of our ancestors, we praise and adore you; may your name be honoured for ever. ₄You have treated us as we deserve. In everything you have done to us you are always honest, and when you bring us to judgement, you are always fair. ₅You did what was right when you brought disaster upon Jerusalem, the holy city of our ancestors. We deserved that judgement because of our sins. ₆We disobeyed you, we turned our backs on you, and we are guilty of every sin. ₇We did not do the things that you commanded us to do. If we had obeyed your laws, we would have prospered, ₈but now we deserve the judgement and punishment that you have brought upon us. ₉You have handed us over to lawless, hateful, and defiant enemies — to the most wicked king in the world. ₁₀And now all of us who worship you are humiliated; we are too ashamed to open our mouths.

₁₁“Yet for the sake of your own honour, do not break your covenant with us and abandon us for ever. ₁₂Do not withhold your mercy from us. Keep your promises to Abraham, whom you loved, to Isaac, your servant, and to Jacob, the father of your holy people Israel. ₁₃You promised to give them as many descendants as the stars in the sky or as the grains of sand along the seashore. ₁₄But now, Lord, we are fewer in number than any other nation; wherever we are, we live in disgrace because of our sins. ₁₅We are left without a king, without any prophets or leaders. There is no longer a Temple where we can go to offer you burnt offerings, sacrifices, gifts, or incense, no place where we can make offerings to you and find your mercy. ₁₆But we come to you with repentant hearts and humble spirits, begging you to accept us just as if we had come with burnt offerings of rams and bulls and thousands of fat lambs. ₁₇Accept our repentance as our sacrifice to you today, so that we may obey you with all our hearts. No one who trusts you will ever be disappointed. _18-19Now with all our hearts we promise to obey you, worship you, and come to you in prayer. Treat us with kindness and mercy, and let us never be put to shame. ₂₀O Lord, rescue us with one of your miracles; bring honour to your name.

₂₁“Bring disgrace and shame on all who harm us. Take away their might and power and crush their strength. ₂₂Let them know that you alone are Lord and God and that you rule in majesty over the whole world.”

₂₃The king's servants who had thrown the three men into the furnace kept the fire hot by feeding it with oil, tar, flax, and brushwood. ₂₄The flames blazed up to a height of more than twenty metres ₂₅and even spread out and burnt up the Babylonians standing near the furnace. ₂₆But an angel of the Lord came down into the fire where the three men were. He pushed aside the flames ₂₇so that it felt as if a cool breeze were blowing, and the fire did not touch the men at all or hurt them in any way.

The Song of the Three Young Men

₂₈There in the furnace the three young men again started singing together in praise of God:

₂₉“We praise you, O Lord, the God of our ancestors.

₃₀May your glorious, holy name

be held in honour and reverence for ever.

₃₁May hymns be sung to your glory for ever

and may your holy presence be praised in that temple,

₃₂where you sit on your heavenly throne above the winged creatures

and look down to the world of the dead.

May you be praised and honoured for ever.

₃₃May you be praised as you sit on your royal throne.

May hymns be sung to your glory for ever.

₃₄May you be praised in the dome of the heavens.

May hymns be sung to your glory for ever.

₃₅“Praise the Lord, all creation;