1. In the third year of Cyrus the king of Persia, a message came to Daniel from God, and it was explained in a vision. The message was about a horrible war, and it was true.
2. Daniel wrote:For three weeks I was in sorrow.
3. I ate no fine food or meat, I drank no wine, and I put no olive oil on my face or hair.
4. Then, on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I was standing on the banks of the great River Tigris,
5. when I looked up and saw someone dressed in linen and wearing a solid gold belt.
6. His body was like a precious stone, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming fires, his arms and legs like polished bronze, and his voice like the roar of a crowd.
7. Although the people who were with me did not see the vision, they became so frightened that they scattered and hid.
8. Only I saw this great vision. I became weak and pale,
9. and at the sound of his voice, I fell face down in a deep sleep.
10. He raised me to my hands and knees