What does Daniel 3:26 mean?
Leading up to this moment, Babylon's king, Nebuchadnezzar, was absolutely enraged by the defiance of three Hebrew captives (Daniel 3:16–18). In his anger, he commanded them to be thrown, immediately, into a superheated furnace (Daniel 3:19–23). Apparently, the king wanted to see the results of his spite—but instead of three charred corpses, he saw four men, all alive, and one with a supernatural appearance (Daniel 3:24–25). This abruptly changes the king's attitude. In fact, he not only wants the men to come out from the furnace, but he also wants to speak with them in person.Here, the pagan king calls out to his intended victims, referring to them as "servants of the Most High God." His meaning is literal, and different from how that phrase might be used by a modern believer. Nebuchadnezzar still believed in many deities—but this experience has convinced him that the God of Israel is not merely strong (Daniel 2:47), but that He is the most powerful of these varied gods (Daniel 3:29).
This verse repeats the names of these three men, in the same pattern seen over a dozen times throughout the passage (Daniel 3:12, 13, 14, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30). Repetition is a theme of this passage, in part for poetic rhythm, and partly to point out the heavy-handed nature of Nebuchadnezzar's rule.