"No more from thee at this time," interrupted the king. "Retire, and send
the young man hither."

The officer, well used to the manner of his sovereign, bowed low and
retired.

"Belteshazzar," said Arioch, "thou are admitted; and may the gods give
thee success."

With a firm step, and a calm look, and with full confidence in the God of
Israel, the Hebrew youth once more marched into the presence of the King
of Chaldea.

"Belteshazzar," cried the king, "art thou able to make known unto me the
dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?"

"The secret which the king demandeth of his servant is far above the
knowledge and comprehension of all his wise men, astrologers, magicians,
and soothsayers. But the God of heaven--that Jehovah who dwelleth in
light--he revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king,
Nebuchadnezzar, what shall come to pass in the latter days. Be it known,
therefore, to the king, that this secret is not revealed to me through
any wisdom that I have more than any living, but it is the kind
interposition of Jehovah in behalf of thy servant and his companions in
tribulation, who are doomed to die; and, moreover, to show the king that
Jehovah is the only God.

"Thy dream, and the vision of thy head, are these: As for thee, O king,
thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass