I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul

A Song of ^(A)Ascents. Of David.

Daniel's Prayer for His People

9 ^(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,^[a] by ^(AF)bringing upon us a great calamity. ^(AG)For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. ^13 (AH)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, ^(AI)turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. ^14 (AJ)Therefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, ^(AK)for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and ^(AL)we have not obeyed his voice. ¹⁵ And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt ^(AM)with a mighty hand, and ^(AN)have made a name for yourself, as at this day, ^(AO)we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

¹⁶ “O Lord, ^(AP)according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, ^(AQ)your holy hill, ^(AR)because for our sins, and for ^(AS)the iniquities of our fathers, ^(AT)Jerusalem and your people have become ^(AU)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,^{[b] (AV)}make your face to shine upon ^(AW)your sanctuary, which is desolate. ^18 (AX)O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see ^(AY)our desolations, and ^(AZ)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. ^(BA)Delay not, ^(BB)for your own sake, O my God, because ^(BC)your city and ^(BD)your people are called by your name.”

Gabriel Brings an Answer

^20 (BE)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 ^(BF)the holy hill of my God, ²¹ while I was speaking in prayer, the man ^(BG)Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, ^(BH)came to me in swift flight at ^(BI)the time of the evening sacrifice. ^22 (BJ)He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you ^(BK)insight and understanding. ^23 (BL)At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, ^(BM)and I have come to tell it to you, for ^(BN)you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word ^(BO)and understand the vision.

The Seventy Weeks

^24 (BP)“Seventy weeks^[c] are decreed about your people and ^(BQ)your holy city, to finish ^(BR)the transgression, to put an end to sin, ^(BS)and to atone for iniquity, ^(BT)to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and ^(BU)to anoint a most holy place.^{[d] 25 (BV)}Know therefore and understand that ^(BW)from the going out of the word to restore and ^(BX)build Jerusalem to the coming of an ^(BY)anointed one, a ^(BZ)prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again^[e] with squares and moat, ^(CA)but in a troubled time. ²⁶ And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall ^(CB)be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come ^(CC)shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. ^(CD)Its^[f] end shall come with a flood, ^(CE)and to the end there shall be war. ^(CF)Desolations are decreed. ²⁷ And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week,^[g] and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. ^(CG)And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until ^(CH)the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

Daniel's Terrifying Vision of a Man

10 ^(CI)In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, ^(CJ)who was named Belteshazzar. And ^(CK)the word was true, and it was a great conflict.^[h] And ^(CL)he understood the word and ^(CM)had understanding of the vision.

² In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for ^(CN)three weeks. ³ I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I ^(CO)anoint myself at all, for ^(CP)the full three weeks. ⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing ^(CQ)on the bank of the great river (^(CR)that is, the Tigris) ^5 (CS)I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, ^(CT)a man clothed in linen, ^(CU)with a belt of fine ^(CV)gold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶ His body was like ^(CW)beryl, his face ^(CX)like the appearance of lightning, ^(CY)his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and ^(CZ)legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and ^(DA)the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. ^7 (DB)And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves.

¹¹ Woe to them! For they walked in ^(A)the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain ^(B)to Balaam's error and ^(C)perished in Korah's rebellion. ¹² These are hidden reefs^{[a] (D)}at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, ^(E)shepherds feeding themselves; ^(F)waterless clouds, ^(G)swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, ^(H)uprooted; ^13 (I)wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of ^(J)their own shame; ^(K)wandering stars, ^(L)for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

¹⁴ It was also about these that Enoch, ^(M)the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, ^(N)“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, ^15 (O)to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have ^(P)committed in such an ungodly way, and of all ^(Q)the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ¹⁶ These are grumblers, malcontents, ^(R)following their own sinful desires; ^(S)they are loud-mouthed boasters, ^(T)showing favoritism to gain advantage.

A Call to Persevere

¹⁷ But you must ^(U)remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ They^[b] said to you, ^(V)“In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” ¹⁹ It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, ^(W)devoid of the Spirit. ²⁰ But you, beloved, ^(X)building yourselves up in your most holy faith and ^(Y)praying in the Holy Spirit, ^21 (Z)keep yourselves in the love of God, ^(AA)waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. ²² And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³ save others by ^(AB)snatching them out of ^(AC)the fire; to others show mercy ^(AD)with fear, hating even ^(AE)the garment^[c] stained by the flesh.

Doxology

^24 (AF)Now to him who is able ^(AG)to keep you from stumbling and ^(AH)to present you ^(AI)blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵ to ^(AJ)the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, ^(AK)be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time^[d] and now and forever. Amen.