Charles Ellicott Commentary Daniel 3:4

"Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages," — Daniel 3:4 (ASV)

People, nations. — In biblical language, the latter word is used (Genesis 25:16) for the tribes of Ishmael, each of which had its own head, or for the Midianites (Numbers 25:15). The former is applied to Israel in Psalm 111:6, where the phrase people of Jehovah occurs. The word “languages” is applied (Genesis 10:5, Genesis 10:20, and others) to tribes as represented by their languages. Therefore, these three expressions denote all nations subject to the empire, whatever their language, government, or federation (Compare Daniel 3:29, Daniel 4:1, and Daniel 7:14).