Daniel 8:17

17 As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,”^[a] he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”

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Daniel 8:17 in Other Translations

KJV

17 So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.

ESV

17 So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, "Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end."

NLT

17 As Gabriel approached the place where I was standing, I became so terrified that I fell with my face to the ground. “Son of man,” he said, “you must understand that the events you have seen in your vision relate to the time of the end.”

MSG

17 He came up to me, but when he got close I became terrified and fell facedown on the ground.

CSB

17 So he approached where I was standing; when he came near, I was terrified and fell facedown. "Son of man," he said to me, "understand that the vision refers to the time of the end."

Daniel 8:17 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 8:17

So he came near where I stood
The angel immediately obeyed the divine Person in human form, and came near the prophet, in order to instruct him, and carry on a familiar conversation with him: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face;
not being able to bear the glory that attended him; and especially when he considered him as the messenger of a divine Person sent to instruct him, and being conscious of his own frailty and weakness: but he said unto me, understand, O son of man:
give attention in order to understand the vision, which the angel, by a divine command, was about to give him the full meaning of; and which he could not so well attend unto in his present circumstance and posture; and therefore suggests he should shake off his fear, and stand on his feet, and listen to what he was about to say: he calls him "son of man", a title only given to him and Ezekiel; and so may be considered as a mark of honour and respect, as being one greatly beloved and honoured by the Lord; or to express his tender regard to him, and accommodating himself to him, considering he was a frail mortal man; or to put him in mind that he should so consider himself, though now among angels, and favoured with revelations of secrets, that so he might not be exalted with them above measure: for at the time of the end shall be the vision;
or rather, "for a time is the end of the vision" ^F12; there is a set, fixed, and determined time, when the vision shall end, and have its full accomplishment; namely, when the 2300 days are expired.

FOOTNOTES:

F12 (Nwzxh Uq tel) "ad tempus, finis visionis", Munster, Montanus, Calvin.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Daniel 8:17 In-Context

15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man.

16 And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai calling, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.”

17 As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”

18 While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet.

19 He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end.

Cross References 2

1. Ezekiel 1:28; Ezekiel 44:4; S Daniel 2:46; Revelation 1:17
2. ver 19; Habakkuk 2:3

Footnotes 1

[a]. The Hebrew phrase "ben adam" means "human being" . The phrase "son of man" is retained as a form of address here because of its possible association with “Son of Man” in the New Testament.