Daniel 9

Daniel’s Prayer for His People

1  a In the first year of b Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a c Mede, who was made king over the realm of the d Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to e the word of the  Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by f prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the  Lord my God and g made confession, saying, h “O Lord, the i great and awesome God, who j keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5  k we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly l and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6  m We have not listened to n your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to o our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 To you, p O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, q those who are near and r those who are far away, in s all the lands to which you have driven them, because of t the treachery that they have committed against you. 8 To us, O  Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because u we have sinned against you. 9  v To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him 10  w and have not obeyed the voice of the  Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by x his servants the prophets. 11  y All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside z refusing to obey your voice. aa And the curse and oath ab that are written in the Law of ac Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because ad we have sinned against him. 12 He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against ae our rulers who ruled us, ▼
▼ Or  our judges who judged us
 by ag bringing upon us a great calamity. ah For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. 13  ai As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the  Lord our God aj turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. 14  ak Therefore the  Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, al for the  Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and am we have not obeyed his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt an with a mighty hand, and ao have made a name for yourself, as at this day, ap we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 “O Lord aq according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem ar your holy hill as because for our sins, and for at the iniquities of our fathers au Jerusalem and your people have become av a byword among all who are around us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord ▼
▼ Hebrew  for the Lord’s sake
 ax make your face to shine upon ay your sanctuary, which is desolate. 18  az O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see ba our desolations, and bb the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. bc Delay not, bd for your own sake, O my God, because be your city and bf your people are called by your name.”

Gabriel Brings an Answer

20  bg While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the  Lord my God for bh the holy hill of my God, 21 while I was speaking in prayer, the man bi Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first bj came to me in swift flight at bk the time of the evening sacrifice. 22  bl He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you bm insight and understanding. 23  bn At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out bo and I have come to tell it to you, for bp you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word bq and understand the vision.

The Seventy Weeks

24  br “Seventy weeks ▼
▼ Or sevens; also twice in verse 25 and once in verse 26
 are decreed about your people and bt your holy city, to finish bu the transgression, to put an end to sin bv and to atone for iniquity bw to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and bx to anoint a most holy place. ▼
▼ Or thing, or one
 25  bz Know therefore and understand that ca from the going out of the word to restore and cb build Jerusalem to the coming of an cc anointed one, a cd prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again ▼
▼ Or  there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It shall be built again
 with squares and moat cf but in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall cg be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come ch shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. ci Its ▼
▼ Or His
 end shall come with a flood, ck and to the end there shall be war. cl Desolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, ▼
▼ Or seven; twice in this verse
 and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. cn And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until co the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

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