Charles Ellicott Commentary Daniel 10:20

"Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I go forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come." — Daniel 10:20 (ASV)

Then he said.—The meaning of this verse is obscure. Apparently, the person who is speaking refers back to what he had said (Daniel 10:12–14).

From the question "Do you know?" and so on, we are to infer that Daniel was perfectly aware of the reasons which caused him to come, namely, "to make you understand what shall befall your people in the latter days."

But before he proceeds to make this revelation, he prepares Daniel’s mind for a portion of what is about to be revealed by mentioning the spiritual powers which ruled over Greece.

"I shall return to fight," referring to the Providence which watched over Israel during the Persian sovereignty; "but while I am gone forth" (the word being used in a military sense, as in Joshua 14:11) "the prince of Javan will come," this word also being used in a hostile sense.

The prophet is in this manner prepared for troubled times, which shall occur under the Macedonian supremacy.