Daniel’s Vision

10 In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar). The message was trustworthy and concerned a great conflict. He understood it and had insight concerning the vision.

² “At that time I, Daniel, had been mourning for three straight weeks.^{[a] 3} I ate no fancy foods—neither meat nor wine entered my mouth. Furthermore, I didn’t use any ointment until the end of the entire three weeks.^{[b] 4} On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was beside the bank of the great Tigris^[c] River, ⁵ I lifted up my eyes to look, and to my surprise, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was encircled with gold from Uphaz! ⁶ His body was like beryl,^[d] his face flashed like lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and legs were like polished bronze, and his speech roared^[e] like that of a crowd.

⁷ “Now I, Daniel, was the only one to receive the vision—the men who were with me didn’t see it.^[f] However, an enormous fear overwhelmed them, so they ran away to hide, ⁸ and I was left alone to observe this magnificent vision. Nevertheless, no strength remained in me—my face lost its color, and I became weak. ⁹ As I listened to the sound of his words, I fell down on my face unconscious, with my face to the ground.”

Daniel is Given Understanding

¹⁰ “All of a sudden, a hand touched me and lifted me upon my hands and knees. ¹¹ He told me, ‘Daniel, man highly regarded, understand the message that I’m about to relate to you. Stand up, because I’ve been sent to you.’ When he spoke this statement to me, I stood there trembling.