became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloor, and the wind carried
them away, that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the
image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the
dream. Now, O king, listen to the interpretation thereof.

"Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee
a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wheresoever the children of
men dwell, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven, hath he
given unto thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art
this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to
thee; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over the
earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, forasmuch as iron
breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that breaketh all
these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the
feet and toes, part of potter's clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall
be divided, but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron;
forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with clay, so the kingdom shall
be partly strong and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed
with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but
they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with
clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a
kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and this kingdom shall not be
left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the
stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in
pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great
God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and
the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."

For a while the king, in silent astonishment, gazed on the wonderful
being before him; then he arose and fell prostrate at the feet of the
captive Hebrew, and paid him adoration suitable only to a divine being.

"Let thy adoration be paid to Jehovah, O king!" cried Daniel, "for it is
he that revealeth secrets, and bringeth to light the hidden mysteries."

"Of a truth, your God is a God of gods," cried the king, "and a revealer
of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this mystery. And now,
Belteshazzar, thou art exalted to be a ruler over th