The Meaning of Daniel 8:17 Explained

Daniel 8:17

KJV: 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.

YLT: And he cometh in near my station, and at his coming in I have been afraid, and I fall on my face, and he saith unto me: Understand, son of man, for at the time of the end is the vision.

Darby: And he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was afraid, and fell on my face; and he said unto me, Understand, son of man; for the vision is for the time of the end.

ASV: So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was affrighted, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man; for the vision belongeth to the time of the end.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Daniel 8:17 Mean?

Context Summary

Daniel 8:15-27 - God's Deliverance Is Sure
It does not fall within our province to go into the various fulfillments which have been assigned to the predictions of this chapter-one to the time of the Maccabees, one to our own days, and one to that malign Satanic power which stands up perpetually against the Prince of princes. Let us dwell, rather, on the assertion that whatever sets itself against the kingship of Jesus Christ shall inevitably be broken. The Church of God is menaced today, as never before, by a vast multiplication of malign influences; but the Master's promise holds good that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her. They shall be broken without hand. This is our strong confidence with respect to all our foes, and therefore we may possess our souls in patience. It is interesting that Daniel continued to do the king's business, notwithstanding the abundance of the revelations given unto him. However much we may be caught up into the heaven of religious meditation and ecstasy, we must never forget or neglect the interests which are committed to our hands, whether of the home, the business, or the state. [source]

Chapter Summary: Daniel 8

1  Daniel's vision of the ram and he goat
13  The two thousand three hundred days of the suspension of the daily sacrifice
15  Gabriel comforts Daniel, and interprets the vision

What do the individual words in Daniel 8:17 mean?

So he came near where I stood and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face but he said to me Understand son of man that to the time of the end the vision [refers]
וַיָּבֹא֙ אֵ֣צֶל עָמְדִ֔י וּבְבֹא֣וֹ נִבְעַ֔תִּי וָאֶפְּלָ֖ה עַל־ פָּנָ֑י וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלַי֙ הָבֵ֣ן בֶּן־ אָדָ֔ם כִּ֖י לְעֶת־ קֵ֥ץ הֶחָזֽוֹן

וַיָּבֹא֙  So  he  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
אֵ֣צֶל  near 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֵצֶל  
Sense: beside, by, near, nearness, joining, proximity subst.
עָמְדִ֔י  where  I  stood 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.
וּבְבֹא֣וֹ  and  when  he  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
נִבְעַ֔תִּי  I  was  afraid 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: בָּעַת  
Sense: to terrify, startle, fall upon, dismay, be overtaken by sudden terror.
וָאֶפְּלָ֖ה  and  fell 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular, third person feminine singular
Root: נָפַל  
Sense: to fall, lie, be cast down, fail.
פָּנָ֑י  my  face 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר  but  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֵלַי֙  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הָבֵ֣ן  Understand 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: בִּין  
Sense: to discern, understand, consider.
בֶּן־  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אָדָ֔ם  of  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
כִּ֖י  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
לְעֶת־  to  the  time 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common singular construct
Root: עֵת  
Sense: time.
קֵ֥ץ  of  the  end 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֵץ  
Sense: end.
הֶחָזֽוֹן  the  vision  [refers] 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָזׄון  
Sense: vision.