⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month,^[a] as I was standing on the bank of the great river,^(A) the Tigris, ⁵ I looked up, and there was a man dressed in linen,^(B) with a belt of gold^(C) from Uphaz^[b](D) around his waist. ⁶ His body was like beryl,^[c] his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches,^(E) his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.^(F)

⁷ Only I, Daniel, saw the vision.^(G) The men who were with me did not see it,^(H) but a great terror fell on them,^(I) and they ran and hid. ⁸ I was left alone, looking at this great vision.^(J) No strength was left in me; my face grew deathly pale,^[d](K) and I was powerless. ⁹ I heard the words he said, and when I heard them I fell into a deep sleep,^[e](L) with my face to the ground.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man.^(A) He laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last,^(B)