Daniel 10

In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was also called Belteshazzar. The message was true, and it was about a great struggle. Daniel understood the message, and the understanding of it came to him in a vision.

1In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.

NoteCyrus was the Persian king who conquered Babylon in 539 BC and allowed exiled Jews to return home; his third year would be about 536 BC. Belteshazzar was the Babylonian name given to Daniel when he was taken into royal service (Daniel 1:7). The King James phrase "the time appointed was long" translates a Hebrew word that can mean either a long stretch of service or a great conflict; translators are divided, which is why the plain rendering here says "a great struggle."

2At that time I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks.

2In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.

NoteThe Hebrew reads literally "three weeks of days": that is, ordinary seven-day weeks, twenty-one days. The wording is unusually specific, and readers have long taken it as marking these off from the "weeks" of Daniel 9, which are counted in years.

3I ate no rich food. No meat or wine passed my lips. I did not rub oil on myself at all until the three weeks were over.

3I 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.

NoteRubbing the body with olive oil was ordinary daily grooming in that climate, like washing or combing hair. Going without it, along with plain food and no meat or wine, was the recognized outward sign that a person was in mourning.

4On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I was standing beside the great river, the Tigris.

4And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;

NoteThe first month is Nisan, falling in March–April. The Passover and the week of Unleavened Bread fall on the fourteenth through the twenty-first of that month, so Daniel's three weeks of mourning covered the festival season. The King James calls the river "Hiddekel," which is simply the Hebrew name for the Tigris.

5I looked up, and there in front of me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist.

5Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:

NoteLinen, rather than wool, was the fabric of priestly and ceremonial dress, and in visions it marks a figure as belonging to the heavenly court. Uphaz is a place name that appears only here and in Jeremiah 10:9; its location is unknown, and some ancient copies read "Ophir," a region famous for the finest gold.

6His body was like a shining gemstone. His face was as bright as lightning. His eyes were like flaming torches. His arms and legs gleamed like polished bronze. His voice sounded like the roar of a huge crowd.

6His 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.

NoteThe stone named here is "tarshish" in Hebrew, some yellow or gold-green gem, identified variously as beryl, topaz or chrysolite; nobody now knows exactly which. "Colour" in the King James means appearance or gleam, not hue.

7I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision. The men with me did not see it, but they were seized with terror and ran away to hide.

7And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.

8So I was left alone, looking at this great vision. All my strength drained away. My face turned deathly pale, and I had no strength left.

8Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.

Note"My comeliness was turned in me into corruption" is King James English for a change in appearance: the healthy look drained out of his face and he went the color of a corpse.

9Then I heard him speaking. As I listened to his words, I fell into a deep sleep, face down on the ground.

9Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.

10Then a hand touched me and lifted me, shaking, onto my hands and knees.

10And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.

11He said to me, "Daniel, you are a man who is greatly loved. Pay close attention to the words I am about to say to you, and stand up, because I have now been sent to you." When he said this, I stood up, trembling.

11And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.

NoteThe Hebrew behind "greatly beloved" is literally "a man of preciousness" or "treasured things", someone held as valuable. The same phrase is used of Daniel in 9:23 and again in 10:19.

12Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. From the very first day that you set your heart on understanding and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard. I have come because of your words.

12Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

Note"Chasten thyself" here does not mean punish; it renders a Hebrew verb meaning to humble or abase oneself, which in practice meant fasting and mourning of the kind described in verse 3.

13But the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood against me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I stayed there with the kings of Persia.

13But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Note"Prince" translates the Hebrew *sar*, a commander or chief officer. In this chapter the word is used of unseen figures standing behind particular nations (a prince of Persia, later a prince of Greece) set against Michael, called the prince of Daniel's own people. The last clause is ambiguous in the Hebrew and can be read either as "I was left there with the kings of Persia" or "I was no longer needed there."

14Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the days to come, because the vision is about days still far off."

14Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.

Note"The latter days" translates a Hebrew phrase meaning simply "the after-part of the days", the later time, whether that means the distant future or the final period of history. The phrase itself does not settle which.

15While he was saying these things to me, I turned my face toward the ground and could not speak.

15And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.

Note"Dumb" in 1611 English means unable to speak. It carries no suggestion of stupidity.

16Then someone who looked like a human being touched my lips. I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to the one standing in front of me, "My lord, because of this vision I am overcome with pain, and I have no strength left.

16And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.

Note"One like the similitude of the sons of men" is King James wording for a figure shaped like a human being. "Sons of men" is a Hebrew idiom simply meaning human beings.

17How can I, your servant, even talk with you, my lord? My strength left me at once, and there is no breath left in me."

17For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.

Note"Straightway" means immediately. "Breath" here is the ordinary word for the air in one's lungs: he is saying he cannot even get his wind, not making a statement about his soul.

18Then the one who looked like a man touched me again and gave me strength.

18Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,

19He said, "Do not be afraid, you who are greatly loved. Peace be with you. Be strong now, be strong." When he spoke to me, I was strengthened, and I said, "Speak, my lord, because you have given me strength."

19And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.

20Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Now I must return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go out, the prince of Greece will come.

20Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.

Note"Grecia" is the King James spelling of Greece. In Daniel's day Greece was a distant collection of city-states on the far edge of the Persian empire, not yet the power that Alexander would make it two centuries later.

21But first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. No one stands with me against these except Michael, your prince."

21But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.

Note"The scripture of truth" means a written record, a book or register kept in the heavenly court, in which what is to happen is already set down. "None that holdeth with me" is old English for "no one takes my side" or "stands with me."