With the Prayer should be compared Daniel ix. 4-19 and Baruch i. 15-iii. 8; all three partake of a liturgical character; this becomes abundantly clear if one reads them in connection with certain portions of the modern Jewish Liturgy (“Morning Prayer,” see Singer’s edition, _The Authorized Daily Prayer Book_, pp. 37 ff.). It is difficult to get away from the conviction that all three of the pieces just mentioned were in some way connected with the ancient Jewish Liturgy; whether extracts from time-honoured prayers, or based upon these, it is of course impossible to say, but they quite distinctly breathe the Jewish liturgical spirit. III. THE SONG OF THE THREE CHILDREN This Song is introduced with the words of verse 28: “Then the three, as out of one mouth, praised, and glorified, and blessed God in the furnace saying”; thus the connection with the “Three Children” is brought about. In verse 66, at the conclusion of the Song, another connecting link is brought in: O Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, bless ye the Lord, Sing His praise and highly exalt Him for ever. For He hath rescued us from Hades, and saved us from the power of death, And delivered us from the midst of the burning fiery furnace, even out of the fire hath He delivered us. A concluding doxology (verses 67, 68) is added. It is probable that all these three verses form a later addition. This Song again, apart from the added verses, has nothing in it which would connect it with the “Three Children.” Its tone of exultation is in strong contrast to the despondent tone of the Prayer; this is, however, one indication of the date of its composition, though a negative one, viz., it cannot have been written during the Maccabæan struggle. It cannot, on the other hand, have been written before this struggle as the advanced belief in the future life taught in verse 64 precludes this; that verse runs: O ye spirits and souls of the righteous, bless ye the Lord, Sing His praise, and highly exalt Him for ever.