Even If Not
“But even if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image that you have set up.”
About this song
A trap-gospel anthem retelling Daniel chapter 3 — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refusing to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's gold image on the plain of Dura. The chorus pulls straight from verses 17 and 18: "Our God whom we serve is able to rescue us... but even if he does not, we will not bow." Verse 1 narrates the king's threat and the three Hebrews' confession; verse 2 walks through the furnace heated seven times hotter, the soldiers killed by the flames, and Nebuchadnezzar's own words that Jehovah "sent His angel" (verse 28). The bridge brings the same courage forward to today — refusing to compromise the truth for a paycheck, refusing to bow to a flag, a man, or a throne.
Read more on jw.orgLyrics
Intro
sparse 808 hits, choir hum, spoken
Babylon... Dura plain...
A gold image, ninety feet tall...
The king said bow, or burn...
Three young men said no.
Verse 1
Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego stand
Babylonians bowing on every hand
Music plays, the herald calls the names
But three Hebrew boys won't play these games
The king got mad, called them in the room
Said tell me boys, do you wanna meet your doom?
You bow to the image or you burn alive
Sevenfold furnace gonna swallow you tonight
But they looked the king dead in his eye
Said our God is able and we don't deny
He can rescue us from the burning flame
We don't compromise on Jehovah's name
Pre-Chorus
kick drops, tension builds
But even if He doesn't deliver
Even if the fire takes us under
Hear it loud, hear it clear, O king
We will not bow to anything
Chorus
full drop, big choir
Even if not (even if not)
We will not bow
Even if not (even if not)
Not now, not ever, not now
We serve Jehovah, only Jehovah
Throne of every nation, every law
Even if not (even if not)
We will not bow
Verse 2
Tied them up, threw them in the heat
Furnace burning at sevenfold heat
Killed the soldiers walking up the ramp
But the three Hebrews walking through the camp
Nebuchadnezzar looked, he leaped to his feet
Said didn't we throw three boys into the heat?
But I see four men loose, walking through the fire
And the fourth one looks like the angel of the Most High
Jehovah sent His angel, that's what the king confessed
Furnace mouths shut like the lions' mouths in lion's den west
Not a hair of their head was singed
Not a thread of their robe burned thin
Pre-Chorus
And even if He hadn't delivered
Even if the fire had taken us under
Hear it loud, hear it clear, O king
We will not bow to anything
Chorus
Even if not (even if not)
We will not bow
Even if not (even if not)
Not now, not ever, not now
We serve Jehovah, only Jehovah
Throne of every nation, every law
Even if not (even if not)
We will not bow
Bridge
beat drops to choir + organ, more intimate
Now they tell us salute, we say no
Tell us cross the line, we say no
Compromise the truth for a paycheck, no
Bow to a flag, to a man, to a throne, no
This is not the first furnace
And it won't be the last
But we walk the same path
That the three Hebrews walked
Jehovah is able
And the angel still walks
And even if not
Our integrity holds
Final Chorus
bigger, choir wide, double-time hi-hat
Even if not (even if not!)
We will not bow!
Even if not (even if not!)
Not now, not ever, not now!
We serve Jehovah, only Jehovah
Throne of every nation, every law
Even if not (even if not!)
We will not bow!
Outro
choir holds, ad-libs fade
Even if not... even if not...
We will not bow...
Jehovah... Jehovah...
We will not bow.
Go deeper at jw.org
These articles from Jehovah's organization explain the teachings behind this song.