Daniel 10:1-9

Daniel's Vision by the Great River

10¹ In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, a message was made plain to Daniel, whose Babylonian name was Belteshazzar. The message was true. It dealt with a big war. He understood the message, the understanding coming by revelation: ² "During those days, I, Daniel, went into mourning over Jerusalem for three weeks. ³ I ate only plain and simple food, no seasoning or meat or wine. I neither bathed nor shaved until the three weeks were up. ⁴ "On the twenty-fourth day of the first month I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris. ⁵ I looked up and to my surprise saw a man dressed in linen with a belt of pure gold around his waist. ⁶ His body was hard and glistening, as if sculpted from a precious stone, his face radiant, his eyes bright and penetrating like torches, his arms and feet glistening like polished bronze, and his voice, deep and resonant, sounded like a huge choir of voices. ⁷ "I, Daniel, was the only one to see this. The men who were with me, although they didn't see it, were overcome with fear and ran off and hid, fearing the worst. ⁸ Left alone after the appearance, abandoned by my friends, I went weak in the knees, the blood drained from my face. ⁹ "I heard his voice. At the sound of it I fainted, fell flat on the ground, face in the dirt.