1. During the third year that Cyrus was the king of Persia, these things were shown to Daniel. (Daniel’s other name is Belteshazzar.) They are true, but very hard to understand. Daniel understood them because they were explained to him in a vision.
2. At that time I, Daniel, was very sad for three weeks.
3. During those three weeks, I didn’t eat any fancy food; I didn’t eat any meat or drink any wine. I didn’t put any oil on my head. I didn’t do any of these things for three weeks.
4. On the 24th day of the first month of the year, I was standing beside the great Tigris River.
5. While I was standing there, I looked up and I saw a man standing in front of me. He was wearing linen clothes. He wore a belt made of pure gold around his waist.
6. His body was like a smooth, shiny stone. His face was bright like lightning. His eyes were like flames of fire. His arms and feet were shiny like polished brass. His voice was loud like a crowd of people.