Charles Ellicott Commentary Daniel 3:6

"and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace." — Daniel 3:6 (ASV)

Shall be cast ...—This punishment was not uncommon among the Babylonians. One instance of it is mentioned by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29:22; see also Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, vol. ii., p. 361). The occasion being a national festival, any refusal to worship the national gods would be regarded as high treason. Any foreign subjects would be expected to take part in the ceremony, their gods being supposed to have been conquered, and being regarded as demons. (Compare to 2 Kings 19:12; 2 Chronicles 28:23.)