Daniel 8:18
in Daniel 8While he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me, helped me to my feet,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and set me upright.
KJV
Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.
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This verse in Daniel 8
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground - Overcome and prostrate with the vision. That is, he had sunk down stupified or senseless. See Dan 10:9. His strength had been entirely taken away by the vision. There is nothing improbable in this, that the sudden appearance of a celestial vision, or a heavenly being, should take away the strength.
This site's exposition
sought for the meaning
on Daniel 8:15-19
Daniel seeks the vision's meaning and one with the appearance of a man stands before him, then a voice between the banks of Ulai names him: Gabriel, make this man to understand. This is the first time any angel is named in Scripture, a distinction verified against the floor, Gabriel appearing again at 9:21 and then at Luke 1:19 and 1:26 to announce the births of John and Jesus. Daniel is addressed as son of man, a title the bench is careful to distinguish from the Son of man of chapter seven, here simply the messenger's address to a mortal, and Daniel falls on his face and is set upright to hear that the vision belongs to the time of the end.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Perceiving me prostrate with fear, he first set me upright, then consoled me by making known why he had come, to inform me in my anxiety of the future and what in turn would overtake my people as a result of God's wrath. Then, in …
Verses 18, 19. "And he touched me and stood me upon my feet, and said to me..." Overcome with terror, the prophet was lying on the ground face downward upon his hands and knees, but at the angel's touch he was raised up to a standing position in order that he might without perturbation attend to and understand what was spoken.
That these things are true, just as has been said, Daniel himself testifies. For he spoke in this way, "And it happened when I saw the vision and I sought to understand, and behold, there stood before me an appearance of a man, and I heard the voice of a man above the midst of the Ubal, and he called and he said, 'Gabriel cause him to understand that vision.' And he came and stood holding me, and when he came, I was astounded and fell upon my face and he said to me, 'Understand son of man. For the vision is for the end of time.' And while he spoke with me I was astounded and I fell upon my face upon the ground and he touched me and stood me on my feet and he said, 'Behold, I myself make known to you what will be at the end of wrath. For the vision is of the end of time. The ram which you saw, who had horns, he is the king of the Persians and Medes. And the male goat is king of the Greeks. And the great horn which was above the midst of his eyes, he is the first king. And after he is shattered, four horns stood up after him, four kings from his nation shall arise and not in his strength. And at the end of their kingdom, when their sins are full, a king, shameless in countenance, shall arise, and who understands riddles. And his rule shall be strong and not in his own strength and he shall destroy wonderful things and he shall prosper and he shall practice and he shall destroy the mighty and the holy people, and the yoke of his chain shall prosper. Cunning is in his hand and in his heart he shall be magnified and in cunning he shall destroy many and he shall stand for the destruction of many and he shall shatter people as eggs in a hand. And the vision of evening and morning which was said is true. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), which came not from any neglect of the vision, or indifference towards it, but was an effect of his faintness and the oppression of spirit he was under, through the abundance of revelations. The disciples in the garden slept for sorrow; and, as there, so here, the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 12 And a host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:98%@v11-12
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
When we are slumbering and grovelling on this earth we are very unfit to hear from God, and to converse with him. But, if God design instruction for us, he will be his grace awaken us out of our slumber, raise us from things below, and set us upright. He promised to inform him: " Understand, O son of man!
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Toward the ground - Being terrified with the splendour and grandeur both of the messenger and message. Set me upright - By one touch only. The power of spirits is incomparably greater than that of the strongest of men.
Now as he was speaking with me,....
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְדַבְּר֣וֹ | uvedabero | and when spoke he | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| עִמִּ֔י | ʾimi | with me | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| נִרְדַּ֥מְתִּי | nirdamti | I was dazed | H7290 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פָּנַ֖י | panai | face my | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אָ֑רְצָה | ʾaretzah | [the] ground towards | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וַיִּ֨גַּע־ | vaiyiga'- | and he touched | H5060 → | 150 times |
| בִּ֔י | bi | <in> me | ||
| וַיַּֽעֲמִידֵ֖נִי | vaiyaamideni | and he made stand me | H5975 → | 521 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עָמְדִֽי׃ | ʾamedi | standing place my | H5977 → | 9 times |
וּבְדַבְּר֣וֹand when spoke he
uvedaberoH1696 →1141 times
עִמִּ֔יwith me
ʾimiH5973 →1050 times
נִרְדַּ֥מְתִּיI was dazed
nirdamtiH7290 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פָּנַ֖יface my
panaiH6440 →2123 times
אָ֑רְצָה[the] ground towards
ʾaretzahH776 →2504 times
וַיִּ֨גַּע־and he touched
vaiyiga'-H5060 →150 times
בִּ֔י<in> me
bi
וַיַּֽעֲמִידֵ֖נִיand he made stand me
vaiyaamideniH5975 →521 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
עָמְדִֽי׃standing place my
ʾamediH5977 →9 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 2:2And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 3:24
Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. He spoke with me and said, “Go, shut yourself inside your house.
- Ezekiel 3:24
Through
Daniel 10:16And suddenly one with the likeness of a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and said to the one standing before me, “My lord, because of the vision, I am overcome…
it leads to
- Daniel 8:15
While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.
- Isaiah 6:7
And with it he touched my mouth and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your iniquity is removed and your sin is atoned for.”
- Jeremiah 1:9
Then the LORD reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
- Daniel 8:17
As he came near to where I stood, I was terrified and fell facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
- Daniel 7:28
Thus ends the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and my face turned pale. But I kept the matter to myself.”
- Daniel 8:15
Through
Daniel 10:18Again the one with the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me.
it leads to
- Daniel 10:16
And suddenly one with the likeness of a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and said to the one standing before me, “My lord, because of the vision, I am overcome…
- Daniel 10:16
Through
Luke 9:32Meanwhile Peter and his companions were overcome by sleep, but when they awoke, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with Him.
it leads to
- John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- John 1:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies7
About Daniel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.27.1-2; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER EIGHT; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 8:18-19.