1 In 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.
2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.
3 I 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.
4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;
5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
6 His 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.
7 And 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.
8 Therefore 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.
9 Yet 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.
10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
11 And 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.
12 Then 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.
13 But 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.
14 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.
15 And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.
16 And, 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.
17 For 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.
18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,
19 And 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.
20 Then 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.
21 But 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.
<html><b>and for a long time</b> and it will come in a long time. <b>and he understood the word</b> and to understand the word, the vision was revealed to me. <b>and he understood it in the vision</b> Heb. וּבִינָה and to make him understand it in the vision. Now this word is not a noun, like (Job. 38:4): “if you know understanding (בִּינָה) Instead, the “hey” is superfluous, and it is like (Ps 5:2) “understand (בִּינָה) my thoughts” Therefore, the accent is above on the “beth,” and its meaning is like הָבֵן, understand.</html>
<html><b>had been mourning</b> when he saw that Cyrus had curtailed the construction of the Temple, for he had ordered to commence it, and he reneged because of the missive of the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin: Rehum the adviser and Shimshai the scribe, as is written in the Book of Ezra (4:5). <b>three weeks of days</b> twenty-one years. They are eighteen years from the one year of Darius the Mede, when he [Daniel] put to his heart to calculate the seventy years of the exile, as it is written: until the second year of Darius the Persian, the son of Esther, who built the Temple. As for the three extra years, I do not know whether he started to fast before them or whether the duration of the acceptance of the vow of his fasts terminated three years after the building.</html>
<html><b>white bread</b> Heb. לֶחֶם חֲמֻדֹת, white (lit. clean) bread, as Onkelos rendered (Gen. 27:15): “Esau’s clean clothes (הַחֲמֻדֹת),” דַּכְיָתָא, clean.</html>
<html><b>clad in linen</b> a linen garment. <b>with a girdle of gold studded with jewels</b> Heb. בְּכֶתֶם אוּפָז, with a girdle of a cluster of pearls. Every [instance of] כֶּתֶם is an expression of a cluster of gold and precious stones.</html>
<html><b>And his body was like tarshish</b> Our Sages of blessed memory explained in Tractate Hullin (9lb): “His body was two thousand parasangs large, like the measurement of the sea named Tarshish, and that is the sea of Africa (the Mediterranean).” <b>brandished</b> Heb. קָלָל, smelted, refined, and shiny. <b>like the voice of a multitude</b> like the voice of a gathering of a large multitude, whose voice is heard from afar.</html>
<html><b>but the men who were with me</b> Our Sages of blessed memory said that they were Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. <b>but a great quaking fell upon them</b> Our Sages of blessed memory said that although a person does not see something of which he is terrified, his guardian angel, who is in heaven, does see it; therefore, he becomes terrified.</html>
<html><b>was turned in me into corruption</b> Heb. לְמַשְׁחִית, lit. to a destroyer. To corruption, and it is customary for Biblical verses to speak in this manner, like (Jer. 5:8): “They were like armed stallions early in the morning.” מַשְׁכִּים is the equivalent of בְּהַשְׁכָּמַת הַבּקֶר, in the early morning. <b>I could not summon up strength</b> i.e., I did not gather. All my strength left my innards.</html>
<html><b>I fell into a sound sleep</b> out of great fright.</html>
<html><b>and moved me</b> as one who moves a sleeping person to awaken him.</html>
<html><b>man of desirable qualities</b> אִישׁ חֲמֻדוֹת, pure man. <b>upright</b> Heb. עַל עָמְדֶךָ, on the stand of your feet. <b>I have been sent to you</b> I have been sent to you from the Omnipresent. <b>quaking</b> [as translated,] quaking.</html>
<html><b>and I have come because of your words</b> I have come on this mission because of your words. Our Rabbis, however, explained in Tractate Yoma (77a): “and I came within the curtain because of you, for I was banned from its midst.”</html>
<html><b>has been standing against me</b> to battle with me in heaven by requesting an extension for the kingdom for Persia to enable them to subjugate you (Israel). Behold twenty-one days that he has been standing against me. <b>the first princes</b> those counted first among those who enter. <b>and I remained there</b> to silence the princes of Persia in heaven.</html>
<html><b>for there is yet a vision</b> to tell you what has not yet been told, and it will come in many days at an appointed time.</html>
<html><b>my joints turned upon me</b> Heb. צִירַי. These are the ends of the bones, all the limbs that are thrust into their sockets and turn within them like a door on its hinge in the socket of the threshold. My joints turned to become dislocated from their place out of much trembling and quaking.</html>
<html><b>this servant of my lord</b> He refers to himself as a servant, and to the angel as “my lord,” i.e., to say, How will your servant be able to speak with you?</html>
<html><b>And now I shall return to battle with the prince of Persia</b> and I know that I will be victorious, but when the time of the kingdom of the heathens [Greece Malbim ed., Antiochus Vilna ed.] arrives, I know that I will leave, and he will enter after thirty-four years of the existence of the Temple. Alexander of Macedon will rise, for although Israel was subjugated by the kings of Persia in those days, they exacted a light tribute from them, and they did not burden them heavily because the Holy One, blessed be He, caused them to have mercy on them. But the kings of the heathens [Greece, Antiochus] laid a heavy yoke upon them.</html>
<html><b>what is inscribed in a true script</b> the document of the decree is true, but not one of the heavenly princes is exerting himself to assist me with all these, except etc.</html>