And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they complete shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.
Daniel 12:5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river and the other on that bank of the river.
Daniel 12:6 And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be until the end of these wonders?”
Daniel 12:7 And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they complete shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.
Daniel 12:8 As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?”
Daniel 12:9 Then he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the time of the end.
The verse centers on "heard", "dressed", "linen", "above", "waters", "river", "raised", and "right". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "heard" and "dressed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 6's "And one said to the man dressed..." into verse 8's "As for me I heard but could...", so "heard" and "dressed" belong inside that flow. In Daniel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "heard" and "dressed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.