^10:2In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three whole weeks.⁴^10:3I ate no choice food; no meat or wine came to my lips,⁵ nor did I anoint myself with oil⁶ until the end of those three weeks.

^10:4On the twenty-fourth day of the first month⁷ I was beside the great river, the Tigris.⁸^10:5I looked up⁹ and saw a¹⁰ man¹¹ clothed in linen;¹² around his waist was a belt made of gold from Upaz.¹³^10:6His body resembled yellow jasper,¹⁴ and his face had an appearance like lightning. His eyes were like blazing torches;¹⁵ his arms and feet had the gleam of polished bronze. His voice¹⁶ thundered forth like the sound of a large crowd.

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Footnotes

4 Heb “three weeks of days.” The inclusion of “days” here and in v. 3 is perhaps intended to call attention to the fact that these weeks are very different in nature from those of chap. 9, which are “weeks of years.”
5 Heb “mouth.”
6 Anointing oneself with oil (usually olive oil) was a common OT practice due to the severity of the Middle Eastern sun (cf. Ps 121:6). It was also associated with rejoicing (e.g., Prov 27:9) and was therefore usually not practiced during a period of mourning.
7 The first month would be the month of Nisan, during which Passover was observed.
8 The Hebrew text has חִדָּקֶל (hiddaqel). “Tigris” appears here in the , since it is the Greek name for this river. Elsewhere in the OT “the great river” refers to the Euphrates (e.g., Gen 15:18; Josh 1:4), leading some interpreters to think that a mistake is involved in using the expression to refer to the Tigris. But it is doubtful that the expression had such a fixed and limited usage. The , however, does render the word here by “Euphrates” (. perat) in keeping with biblical usage elsewhere.
9 Heb “I lifted up my eyes.”
10 Heb “one.” The Hebrew numerical adjective is used here like an English indefinite article.
11 The identity of the messenger is not specifically disclosed. Presumably he is an unnamed angel. Some interpreters identify him as Gabriel, but there is no adequate reason for doing so.
12 The Hebrew word בַּדִּים (baddim) is a plural of extension. See §124.a, b, c and 2: §136.c.
13 The location of this place and even the exact form of the Hebrew name אוּפָז (’ufaz) are uncertain. Apparently it was a source for pure gold. (See Jer 10:9.) The Hebrew word פָז (paz, “refined gold” or “pure gold”) is more common in the OT than אוּפָז, and some scholars emend the text of Dan 10:5 to read this word. Cf. also “Ophir” (1 Kgs 9:28; Isa 13:12; Job 22:24; 28:16).
14 The Hebrew word translated “yellow jasper” is תַּרשִׁישׁ (tarshish); it appears to be a semiprecious stone, but its exact identity is somewhat uncertain. It may be the yellow jasper, although this is conjectural. Cf. , “chrysolite”; , “beryl.”
15 Heb “torches of fire.”
16 Heb “The sound of his words” (cf. v. 9).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris) I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.

On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks. I didn’t eat any rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I didn’t put any oil on my body until the three weeks were over. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up, and there was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.

NLTNew Living Translation

When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks. All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed.

On April 23, as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River, I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist. His body looked like a precious gem. His face flashed like lightning, and his eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and his voice roared like a vast multitude of people.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

In those days, I, Daniel, I myself was in mourning for three whole weeks. I had not eaten any choice food, and meat and wine did not enter my mouth, and I did not use any ointment until the end of three whole weeks. And then on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I myself was on the bank of the great river; that is, the Tigris. And I lifted up my eyes and I saw, and there was a man, and he was dressed in linen, and his waist was girded with the gold of Uphaz. Now his body was like turquoise, and his face was like the appearance of lightning, and his eyes were like torches of fire, and his arms and his legs were like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words was like the sound of a multitude.

KJV 1900King James Version

In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.

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