Jump to a verse
Daniel 10:1-3, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Daniel 10:1-3
Date, Disclosure, Mourning, and Restricted Food
A true word arrives after three weeks of mourning food
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing is revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar. The thing is true, but the time appointed is long, and he understands the thing and has understanding of the vision.
In those days Daniel is mourning three full weeks. He eats no pleasant bread, flesh and wine do not come in his mouth, and he does not anoint himself until three whole weeks are fulfilled. Restricted food here is grief's diet, not a health plan.
Difficulty is not a secret key
The disclosure is true and hard. Understanding in this opening is the beginning of a costly vision, not proof that Daniel now owns the future.
Mourning and withheld delicacies do not force God to speak, and they do not authorize neglecting food or medicine. The princes who will appear later still do not make modern Iranians, Greeks, or governments demonic.
How this should shape us
Meet a hard truth with honest grief rather than with a program to extract secrets. Do not turn Daniel's three weeks into a cleanse, and do not load this date-line with hatred of present peoples.
Teach it back
Explain Daniel 10:1-3 in your own words. Include its movement, ancient horizon, one material uncertainty, and one use the context rules out.
Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Identity of the radiant figure, relation to the messenger, nature of the princes, scope of angelic conflict, and Daniel's fasting practice remain debated. Later spiritual-warfare systems must not be projected backward as explicit detail.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Daniel 10:1-3, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew-Aramaic wording, morphology, language boundary, names, repeated roots, clauses, and lexical controls.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Dan.xml, 10:1-3; Hebrew 1:1–2:4a and 8:1–12:13, Aramaic 2:4b–7:28
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew-Aramaic, textual, historical, translation, chronology, angelic-language, and duration notes.
NET Bible Daniel PDF, printed pp. 1664–1665, translation and translator notes on 10:1-3
Supports: Bilingual form, genres, composition, imperial settings, Antiochus IV, four kingdoms, seventy weeks, resurrection, and major critical alternatives.
P. R. Davies, 'Daniel,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 563–571; chapter-level discussion applied to 10:1-3
Supports: Two major Greek editions, substantial chapters 4–6 differences, numbering, wording, order, and additions outside the pinned KJV mapping.
McLay, NETS Daniel, introduction printed pp. 991–994 and parallel Old Greek/Theodotion translation pp. 995–1025; 10:1-3
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Daniel 10:1-3, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew aramaic text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Daniel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew-Aramaic wording, morphology, language boundary, names, repeated roots, clauses, and lexical controls.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Dan.xml, 10:1-3; Hebrew 1:1–2:4a and 8:1–12:13, Aramaic 2:4b–7:28
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Daniel with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew-Aramaic, textual, historical, translation, chronology, angelic-language, and duration notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Daniel PDF, printed pp. 1664–1665, translation and translator notes on 10:1-3
Open source ↗scholarly commentary article
Daniel
Philip R. Davies
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, edited by John Barton and John Muddiman, 2001
Supports: Bilingual form, genres, composition, imperial settings, Antiochus IV, four kingdoms, seventy weeks, resurrection, and major critical alternatives.
Exact location: P. R. Davies, 'Daniel,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 563–571; chapter-level discussion applied to 10:1-3
Open source ↗greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Daniel
R. Timothy McLay
Oxford University Press for the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, 2009, electronic corrections through 2014
Supports: Two major Greek editions, substantial chapters 4–6 differences, numbering, wording, order, and additions outside the pinned KJV mapping.
Exact location: McLay, NETS Daniel, introduction printed pp. 991–994 and parallel Old Greek/Theodotion translation pp. 995–1025; 10:1-3
Open source ↗