Bible Strands
Daniel 10:9
I heard the sound of his words, and as I listened, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Daniel remains alone after his vision leaves him physically drained (10:8), and he collapses into a prostrate deep sleep precisely as the heavenly speaker begins addressing him, immediately before a hand physically restores him (10:10).
The words — The Hebrew phrase קֹל דְּבָרָיו (qol devarav) renders literally as "the sound of his words," marking the auditory stimulus that triggers the narrator’s physical collapse.
The thread — The specific sequence of divine speech inducing a face-down, deep sleep appears in Daniel 8:18, while the broader motif of deep sleep falling upon a recipient occurs in Genesis 15:12 and Job 4:13.
Why it lands — The text records that human strength fails under direct divine communication, requiring the reader to acknowledge that spiritual perception demands God’s initiating touch rather than human endurance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Daniel 8:18 While 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,
- 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 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.
- Song of Solomon 5:2 I 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 the dampness of the night.”
- Luke 9:32 Meanwhile Peter and his companions were overcome by sleep, but when they awoke, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with Him.
- Luke 22:45 When Jesus rose from prayer and returned to the disciples, He found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.
- Job 33:15 In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds,