Daniel 10:1–21

Daniel Is Terrified by a Vision

¹In the third year of ^aCyrus king of Persia a ¹message was revealed to ^bDaniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the ^cmessage was true and one of great ²conflict, but he understood the message and had an ^dunderstanding of the vision.

²In those days, I, Daniel, had been ^amourning for three entire weeks.

³I ^adid not eat any ¹tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.

⁴On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great ^ariver, that is, the ¹Tigris,

⁵I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man ^adressed in linen, whose waist was ^bgirded with a belt of pure ^cgold of Uphaz.

⁶His body also was like ¹beryl, his face ²had the appearance of lightning, ^ahis eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a ³tumult.

⁷Now I, Daniel, ^aalone saw the vision, while the ^bmen who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great ^cdread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves.

⁸So I was ^aleft alone and saw this great vision; yet ^bno strength was left in me, for my ¹natural color turned to ²a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength.

⁹But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I ^afell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.

Daniel Comforted

¹⁰Then behold, a hand ^atouched me and set me trembling on my ¹hands and knees.

¹¹He said to me, “O ^aDaniel, man of ¹high esteem, ^bunderstand the words that I am about to tell you and ^cstand ²upright, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up ^dtrembling.

¹²Then he said to me, “^aDo not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on ^bhumbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response ^cto your words.

¹³“But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was ¹withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, ^aMichael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.

¹⁴“Now I have come to ^agive you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the ^1blatter days, for the vision pertains to ^cthe days yet future.”

¹⁵When he had spoken to me according to these words, I ¹turned my face toward the ground and became ^aspeechless.

¹⁶And behold, ^1aone who resembled a human being was ^btouching my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, “O my lord, as a result of the vision ^2canguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength.

¹⁷“For ^ahow can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now ^bno strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me.”

¹⁸Then this one with human appearance touched me again and ^astrengthened me.

¹⁹He said, “O man of ¹high esteem, ^ado not be afraid. Peace ²be with you; take ^bcourage and be courageous!” Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, “May my lord speak, for you have ^cstrengthened me.”

²⁰Then he said, “Do you ¹understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the ²prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the ^aprince of ³Greece is about to come.

²¹“However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of ^atruth. Yet there is no one who ¹stands firmly with me against these forces except ^bMichael your prince.