Daniel 10:9
in Daniel 10I heard the sound of his words, and as I listened, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Yet heard I the voice of his words; and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I fallen into a deep sleep on my face, with my face toward the ground.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Daniel 10
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Only I, Daniel, saw the vision
on Daniel 10:7-9
Daniel alone sees the vision, while the men with him see nothing, yet “a great terror fell upon them, and they ran and hid themselves”. Left alone, Daniel loses his strength, his face grows “deathly pale,” and he falls into “a deep sleep” with his face to the ground.
This site's exposition
I fell into a deep sleep
Adam Clarke reads the deep sleep as a swoon. Albert Barnes links the sound of his words to the voice like a multitude, and thinks the companions heard that sound and fled in alarm. Matthew Henry notes that Daniel, though overcome, still heard and knew what was said.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Yet heard I the voice of his words,....
The encouragement that was given him to expect such a discovery of future events as should be satisfactory and useful both to others and to himself, and that he should be enabled both to understand the meaning of this discovery, though difficult, and to bear up under the lustre of it, though dazzling and dreadful,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Was I in a deep sleep - I fell into a swoon.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Yet heard I the voice of his words - What the angel said when he appeared to him Daniel has not recorded. He says Dan 10:6 that the voice of his words was “like the voice of a multitude.” It is probable that those who were with him had heard that voice, and hearing it, and being struck with the remarkable character of the vision, they had suddenly fled in alarm. Daniel heard more distinctly what he said, though it does not yet appear that he had heard anything more than the sound of his voice.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and moved me as one who moves a sleeping person to awaken him.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֶשְׁמַ֖ע | vaeshma' | and I heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| ק֣וֹל | kol | [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| דְּבָרָ֑יו | devarav | words his | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| וּכְשָׁמְעִי֙ | ukheshamei | and just as heard I | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| ק֣וֹל | kol | [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| דְּבָרָ֔יו | devarav | words his | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| וַאֲנִ֗י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| הָיִ֛יתִי | hayiti | I was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| נִרְדָּ֥ם | nirdam | dazed | H7290 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פָּנַ֖י | panai | face my | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וּפָנַ֥י | ufanai | and face my | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אָֽרְצָה׃ | ʾaretzah | [was] ground towards | H776 → | 2504 times |
וָאֶשְׁמַ֖עand I heard
vaeshma'H8085 →1159 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
ק֣וֹל[the] sound of
kolH6963 →506 times
דְּבָרָ֑יוwords his
devaravH1697 →1440 times
וּכְשָׁמְעִי֙and just as heard I
ukheshameiH8085 →1159 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
ק֣וֹל[the] sound of
kolH6963 →506 times
דְּבָרָ֔יוwords his
devaravH1697 →1440 times
וַאֲנִ֗יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
הָיִ֛יתִיI was
hayitiH1961 →3559 times
נִרְדָּ֥םdazed
nirdamH7290 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פָּנַ֖יface my
panaiH6440 →2123 times
וּפָנַ֥יand face my
ufanaiH6440 →2123 times
אָֽרְצָה׃[was] ground towards
ʾaretzahH776 →2504 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
Genesis 15:12As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.
it leads to
- Genesis 2:21
So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 33:15
In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 2:21
Through
Song of Solomon 5:2I sleep, but my heart is awake. A sound! My beloved is knocking: “Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with…
it leads to
- Revelation 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.
- Song of Solomon 2:14
O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is…
- Revelation 3:20
Through
Genesis 2:21So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh.
it leads to
- Genesis 15:12
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.
- Job 4:13
In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
- Genesis 15:12
Through
Job 4:13In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
it leads to
- Job 33:14–16
For God speaks in one way and in another, yet no one notices.
- Job 33:14–16
Through
Daniel 8:18While 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,
it leads to
- Daniel 10:18
Again the one with the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me.
- Daniel 10:18
Where this verse is studied
About Daniel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.