And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.

And he said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he spake unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.

And he said: Fear not, O man of desires, peace be to thee: take courage and be strong. And when he spoke to me, I grew strong: and I said: Speak, O my lord, for thou hast strengthened me.

and he said, Fear not, man greatly beloved; peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And as he was speaking with me I was strengthened, and I said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.

and he saith: Do not fear, O man greatly desired, peace to thee, be strong, yea, be strong; and when he speaketh with me, I have strengthened myself, and I say, Let my lord speak, for thou hast strengthened me.

And he said to me, O man greatly loved, have no fear: peace be with you, be strong and let your heart be lifted up. And at his words I became strong, and said, Let my lord say on, for you have given me strength.

And he said, 'Greatly loved man, do not be afraid, peace be to you; be strong, be strong.' When he spoke to me, I was strengthened, and said, 'Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.'

Et dixit, ne timeas vir desideriorum, [147] Pax tibi, comfortare, et confortare. [148] Et cum loqueretur mecum, roboravi me: tunc dixi, Loquatur dominus meus, quia roborasti me.

He first explains how he recovered his spirits at the angel's exhortation; for he refers to this encouragement as a command to be of good courage. Fear not, therefore, O man of desires The angel here addresses Daniel soothingly, to calm his fears, for he needed some enticement when oppressed with fear at both the words and aspect of the angel. This is the reason why he calls him a man to be desired He adds, peace to thee, a customary salutation with the Hebrews, who mean by the phrase the same as the Latin expression, May it be well with thee. Peace, as the Jews used it, means a state of prosperity, happiness, and quiet, and everything of this kind. Peace, therefore, to thee, meaning, May you prosper. By this word the angel declares his arrival in the Prophet's favor to bear witness to God's merciful feelings towards the Israelites, and to the reception of his own prayers. We ought diligently to notice this, because, as I have already remarked, whenever God puts forth any sign of his majesty, we necessarily become frightened. No other remedy is equal to the favor of God fully manifested towards us, and his testimony to his drawing near us as a father. The angel expresses this feeling by the phrase which he uses, shewing with what justice Daniel fell down lifeless through reverence for God's presence, and the necessity for his being calm and collected when he knew himself sent forth to bear witness to God's favor. Peace, therefore, to thee. He next adds, be strong, be strong By this repetition, the angel teaches how strong an effort was required to arouse the Prophet; if he had been but slightly terrified, one word would have been enough to recover him. But as he was carried beyond himself, and all his senses had failed him, the angel inculcates twice the same exhortation to be strong. Be strong, then, be strong; that is, recover your spirits; and if this cannot be done in a moment, persevere in recovering that alacrity which may render you a fitting disciple; for, while you thus remain astonished, I should address you in vain. There are two reasons why we must notice the Prophet's informing us again how dejected he was. First, it proves how free from ambiguity this revelation really was, and how clearly it was stamped with marks of genuineness. Secondly, we must learn how formidable God's presence is to us, unless we are persuaded of the exercise of his paternal love towards us. Lastly, we must observe how, when once we are struck down, we cannot immediately and completely recover our spirits, but we must be satisfied if God gradually and successively inspires us with renewed strength. Daniel afterwards says, he was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak, for thou hast made me strong By these words he indicates his peace of mind after the angel had roused him by touching him twice, and by giving him courage by means of his exhortation. It is very useful to us to take due notice of this mental tranquillity, because the Prophet ought first to become a diligent scholar to enable him afterwards to discharge for us the office of a faithful teacher. With the greatest propriety, he repeats his assertion about the recovery of his strength, which enabled him to address the angel with facility. It now follows: --

And said, O man greatly beloved - See the notes at Daniel 9:23.
Fear not - Neither at my presence, nor at what I have to say. There was nothing in the visitation of an angel that could be a ground of dread to a good man; there was nothing in what he had to communicate that could be a reasonable cause of alarm.
Be strong, yea, be strong - These are words of encouragement such as we address to those who are timid and fearful. We exhort them not to yield; to make a vigorous effort to meet danger, difficulty, or trial.
Let my lord speak - That is, I am now prepared to receive what you have to communicate.
For thou hast strengthened me - By your encouraging words, and by the kindness of your manner.

O man, greatly beloved - איש חמדות ish chamudoth, man of delights; the most amiable of men.
Let my lord speak - I am now so strengthened and encouraged, that I shall be able to bear any revelation that thou mayest make.

And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: (n) peace [be] unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I (o) was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.
(n) He declares by this that God would be merciful to the people of Israel.
(o) Which declares that when God smites his children down, he does not immediately lift them up at once (for now the Angel had touched him twice), but by little and little.

And said, O man, greatly beloved,..... Or, "man of desires", as before, Daniel 10:11, which shows it to be the same here speaking as there, and probably Gabriel:
fear not; for a man has nothing to fear, from men or devils, that is beloved of the Lord; and especially from good angels, how glorious and majestic soever they are:
peace be unto thee; all prosperity of body and soul; inward peace of mind, a freedom from all hurry of thought, and commotion of the passions, and eternal peace and joy in the world to come:
be strong, yea, be strong; take heart, pull up the spirits, be of good courage, play the man; be strong in the Lord, and in his grace, and fear nothing: the word is repeated for the greater encouragement:
and when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened: divine power going along with his word; the prophet found his bodily strength renewed, his spirits revived, his heart cheerful, and his soul comforted, and all fear and dread removed from him; which was owing to the energy of divine grace; for otherwise not only men, but angels too, would speak in vain:
and said, let my lord speak, for thou hast strengthened me; and so was able to bear the sight of him, support in his presence, and hear his words, and take in what he said, which before he was unfit for; so an angel may be an instrument of strengthening a saint, yea, a prophet, and even our Lord Jesus Christ himself as man, Luke 22:43.

peace be unto thee--God is favorable to thee and to thy people Israel. See Judges 13:21-22, as to the fear of some evil resulting from a vision of angels.