Daniel 10

¹ In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was made to Daniel known as Belteshazzar, atrue revelation of a great conflict. He grasped the meaning of the revelation; what it meant was disclosed to himin a vision.

² At that time, I, Daniel, was doing a three-week penance;

³ I ate no agreeable food, touched no meat or wine, and did not anoint myself, until these three weekswere over.

⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I stood on the bank of that great river, the Tigris,

⁵ I raised my eyes to look about me, and this is what I saw: A man dressed in linen, with a belt of puregold round his waist:

⁶ his body was like beryl, his face looked like lightning, his eyes were like fiery torches, his arms and hisface had the gleam of burnished bronze, the sound of his voice was like the roar of a multitude.

⁷ I, Daniel, alone saw the apparition; the men who were with me did not see the vision, but so great atrembling overtook them that they fled to hide.

⁸ I was left alone, gazing on this great vision; I was powerless, my appearance was changed andcontorted; my strength deserted me.

⁹ I heard a voice speaking, and at the sound of the voice I fel fainting, face downwards on the ground.

¹⁰ I felt a hand touching me, setting my knees and my hands trembling.

¹¹ He said, 'Daniel, you are a man specially chosen; understand the words that I am about to say; standup; I have been sent to you now.' He said this, and I stood up trembling.

¹² He then said, 'Daniel, do not be afraid: from that first day when, the better to understand, youresolved to mortify yourself before God, your words have been heard; and your words are the reason why I havecome.

¹³ The Prince of the kingdom of Persia has been resisting me for twenty-one days, but Michael, one ofthe Chief Princes, came to my assistance. I have left him confronting the kings of Persia

¹⁴ and have come to tel you what will happen to your people in the final days. For here is a new visionabout those days.'

¹⁵ When he had said these things to me, I prostrated myself on the ground, without saying a word;

¹⁶ then someone looking like a man touched my lips. I opened my mouth to speak, and I said to theperson standing in front of me, 'My lord, anguish overcomes me at this vision, and my strength deserts me.

¹⁷ How can your servant speak to my lord now that I have no strength left and my breath fails me?'

¹⁸ Once again, the person like a man touched me; he gave me strength.

¹⁹ 'Do not be afraid,' he said, 'you are a man special y chosen; peace be with you; play the man, bestrong!' And as he spoke to me I felt strong again and said, 'Let my lord speak, you have given me strength.'

²⁰ He then said, 'Do you know why I have come to you?

²¹ It is to tel you what is written in the Book of Truth. I must go back to fight the Prince of Persia; when Ihave overcome him, the Prince of Javan wil come next.In al this, there is no one to lend me support exceptMichael your Prince,