‘And when he had spoken to me in accordance with these words I set my face towards the ground and was dumb. And behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who stood before me, “O my lord, as a result of the vision my pangs have come on me, and I am without strength. For how can the servant of this my lord speak with this my lord?” For as for me, immediately there remained no strength in me, nor was there breath left in me.'
The impact of the angel's words on Daniel was immediate. He bowed his head and did not speak. ‘I was dumb' may simply mean that he did not speak (Psalms 37:2; Psalms 37:9) or it may refer to a supernatural dumbness as later with Zacharias (Luke 1:20). In view of the sequel the latter is probably correct. It was not easy to be a Daniel.
‘One like the similitude of the sons of men.' Also called ‘a man clothed in linen' (Daniel 10:5), ‘one like the appearance of a man' (Daniel 10:18) (but not ‘one like to a son of man', this phrase is carefully avoided). The point was that he looked like a man and yet was not a man.
‘Touched my lips.' throughout the visions Daniel has made clear how dependent he was on supernatural help (Daniel 10:10; Daniel 8:18). The visions were hugely physically demanding and without this sustenance he could not have coped. As a result of this touch he was again able to speak. But all he could do was declare his weakness and his unworthiness. This was then followed by another period of sustained weakness, and he felt breathless.
‘My lord.' The usual address by an inferior to a superior.