Daniel’s Prayer

9 These things happened during the first year Darius son of Ahasuerus was king over ·Babylon [^Lthe Chaldeans; ^C539 bc]. He was ·a descendant [^Lfrom the seed] of the Medes [^Ca people group within the Persian empire]. ² During Darius’ first year as king, I, Daniel, was ·reading in [pondering/reflecting on] the Scriptures. I saw ·that the Lord told Jeremiah that Jerusalem would be empty ruins for seventy years [^Lthe number of years which were according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet to fulfill the ruin of Jerusalem was seventy years; 2 Chr. 36:20–22; Jer. 25:11–12; 29:10].

³ Then I turned [^Lmy face] to the Lord God and ·prayed [^Lsought in prayer] and ·asked him for help [supplication]. ·To show my sadness, I fasted, put on rough cloth, and sat in [^L…with fasting, and sackcloth, and] ashes. ⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God and ·told him about all of our sins [made confession]. I said, “Lord, you are a great ·God who causes fear and wonder [^Land awesome God]. You ·keep [guard] ·your agreement of love [covenant and loyalty] with all who love you and ·obey [keep; guard] your commands.

⁵ “But we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and ·turned [rebelled] against you, your commands, and your ·laws [judgments]. ⁶ We did not listen to your servants, the prophets, who spoke ·for you [^Lin your name] to our kings, our ·leaders [princes], our ·ancestors [fathers], and all the people of the land.

⁷ “Lord, ·you are good and right [^Lto you is righteousness], but ·we are full of shame [^Lto us is shame of face] today—the people of Judah and Jerusalem, all the people of Israel, those near and far whom you ·scattered [drove away] among many nations because they were ·not loyal [treacherous] to you. ⁸ Lord, ·we are all ashamed [^Lto us is shame of face]. Our kings and ·leaders [princes] and our ·fathers [ancestors] are ·ashamed [shame-faced], because we have ·sinned against [or failed] you.

⁹ “But, Lord our God, you ·show us mercy [have compassion] and forgive us even though we have ·turned [rebelled] against you. ¹⁰ We have not ·obeyed [^Llistened to the voice of] the Lord our God or the ·teachings [instructions; laws] he gave us through his servants, the prophets. ¹¹ All the people of Israel have ·disobeyed [transgressed] your ·teachings [instructions; laws] and have turned away, refusing to ·obey you [^Llisten to your voice]. So you ·brought [poured] on us the curses and ·promises of punishment [oaths] written in the ·Teachings [Instructions; Laws] of Moses [Deut. 28:64–68], the servant of God, because we ·sinned against [failed] you.

¹² “·You said these things would happen to us and our ·leaders [judges], and you made them happen; you brought on us a great disaster. Nothing has ever been done ·on earth [^Lunder all the heavens] like what was done to Jerusalem. ¹³ All this disaster came to us just as it is written in the ·Teachings [Instructions; Laws] of Moses [Deut. 28:15–68]. But we have not ·pleaded [entreated] with the Lord our God. We have not ·stopped [turned from] ·sinning [iniquity]. We have not ·paid attention to [considered; pondered; reflected on] your ·truth [faithfulness]. ¹⁴ The Lord ·was ready to bring [^Lkept watch on and brought] the disaster on us, and he did it because the Lord our God is ·right [righteous] in everything he does. But we still did not ·obey him [^Llisten to his voice].

¹⁵ “Lord our God, ·you used your power and [^Lby your strong hand you] brought us out of Egypt [Ex. 12–15]. Because of that, your name is known even today. But we have sinned and ·have done wrong [acted wickedly]. ¹⁶ Lord, ·you do what is right, but [^Laccording to all your righteousness,] ·please do not be angry with [^Lturn aside your anger and your wrath from] Jerusalem, your city on your holy hill [^CZion, the location of the Temple]. Because of our sins and the ·evil things [iniquity] done by our ·ancestors [fathers], people all around ·insult and make fun of [scorn; reproach] Jerusalem and your people.

¹⁷ “Now, our God, hear the prayers of your servant. Listen to my ·prayer for help [supplication], and for ·your [^Lthe Lord’s] sake ·do good things for [^Lmake your face shine on] your ·holy place [sanctuary] that is in ruins. ¹⁸ My God, ·pay attention [^Lextend/incline your ear] and hear me. Open your eyes and see all ·the terrible things that have happened to us [^Lour desolation/destruction] and the city that is called by your name. We do not ·ask these things [present our supplication] because ·we are good [of our righteousness]; instead, we ask because of your ·mercy [compassion]. ¹⁹ Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, ·hear us [pay attention] and do something! For your sake, don’t ·wait [delay], because your city and your people are called by your name.”

Gabriel’s Explanation

²⁰ While I was ·saying these things in my prayer [^Lspeaking and praying] to the Lord, my God, confessing my sins and the sins of the people of Israel and ·praying [^Llaying down my supplication] for God’s holy hill [^CZion, the location of the Temple], ²¹ Gabriel came to me. (I had seen him in my ·last vision [^Lvision in the beginning; 8:1].) ·He came flying quickly to me [or…when I was tired and weary] about the time of the evening sacrifice, while I was still praying. ²² He ·taught me [^Lmade me understand] and said to me, “Daniel, I have come [^Lout now] to give you wisdom and to help you understand. ²³ ·When you first started praying [^LAt the beginning of your supplication], an ·answer [^Lword] ·was given [^Lwent out], and I came to tell you, because ·God loves you very much [^Lyou are favored/coveted/desired]. So ·think about [consider; reflect; ponder] the ·message [^Lword] and ·understand [consider; reflect; ponder] the vision.

²⁴ “·God has ordered four hundred ninety years [^LSeventy sevens/weeks are given] for your people and your holy city [^Cfor the following reasons]: to ·stop [finish] ·people from turning against God [transgression]; to put an end to sin; to ·take away [atone for] ·evil [iniquity]; to bring in ·goodness that continues forever [everlasting righteousness]; to ·bring about [seal] the vision and prophecy; and to ·appoint [anoint] a most holy place.

²⁵ “Learn and understand these things. A command will come to ·rebuild [^Lrestore and build] Jerusalem. The time from this command until the ·appointed leader [anointed prince] comes will be ·forty-nine years [^Lseven sevens/weeks] and ·four hundred thirty-four years [^Lsixty-two sevens/weeks]. Jerusalem will be ·rebuilt [^Lrestored and built] with ·streets [or public squares] and a ·trench filled with water around it [moat; or conduits], but it will be built in times of ·trouble [oppression]. ²⁶ After the ·four hundred thirty-four years [^Lsixty-two sevens/weeks] the ·appointed leader [^Lanointed one] will be ·killed [^Lcut off]; he will have nothing. The ·people [or troops] of the ·leader [prince] who is to come will destroy the city and the holy place. The end of ·the city [^Lit/or him] will come like a flood, and war will continue until the end. ·God has ordered that place to be completely destroyed [^LDesolation/Destruction is decreed]. ²⁷ ·That leader [^LHe] will make firm an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with many people for ·seven years [^Lone seven/week]. He will ·stop [make cease] the offerings and sacrifices after ·three and one-half years [^La half a seven/week]. ·A destroyer will do blasphemous things until the ordered end comes to the destroyed city [^L…and upon a wing will be the horrible abominations until the decreed end overwhelms the desolator].”