Daniel 10:1–20

Daniel’s Vision of a Man

10In the third year of Cyrus^o king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar).^p Its message was true^q and it concerned a great war.^a The understanding of the message came to him in a vision.

²At that time I, Daniel, mourned^r for three weeks. ³I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips;^s and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.

⁴On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank^t of the great river, the Tigris,^{u 5}I looked up^v and there before me was a man dressed in linen,^w with a belt of fine gold^x from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶His body was like topaz,^y his face like lightning,^z his eyes like flaming torches,^a his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze,^b and his voice^c like the sound of a multitude.

⁷I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it,^d but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. ⁸So I was left alone,^e gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left,^f my face turned deathly pale^g and I was helpless.^{h 9}Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.ⁱ

¹⁰A hand touched me^j and set me trembling on my hands and knees.^{k 11}He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed,^l consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up,^m for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.

¹²Then he continued, “Do not be afraid,ⁿ Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble^o yourself before your God, your words^p were heard, and I have come in response to them.^{q 13}But the prince^r of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael,^s one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. ¹⁴Now I have come to explain^t to you what will happen to your people in the future,^u for the vision concerns a time yet to come.^v”

¹⁵While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless.^{w 16}Then one who looked like a man^b touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak.^x I said to the one standing before me, “I am overcome with anguish^y because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak. ¹⁷How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.”^z

¹⁸Again the one who looked like a man touched^a me and gave me strength.^{b 19}“Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,”^c he said. “Peace!^d Be strong now; be strong.”^e

When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.”^f

²⁰So he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece^g will come;