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Daniel’s Prayer for His People

It was the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus, who became king of the Babylonians.[a] During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the Lord, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years.[b] So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.

I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

“O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands. But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations. We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land.

“Lord, you are in the right; but as you see, our faces are covered with shame. This is true of all of us, including the people of Judah and Jerusalem and all Israel, scattered near and far, wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you. O Lord, we and our kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. 10 We have not obeyed the Lord our God, for we have not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice.

“So now the solemn curses and judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured down on us because of our sin. 12 You have kept your word and done to us and our rulers exactly as you warned. Never has there been such a disaster as happened in Jerusalem. 13 Every curse written against us in the Law of Moses has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from the Lord our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth. 14 Therefore, the Lord has brought upon us the disaster he prepared. The Lord our God was right to do all of these things, for we did not obey him.

15 “O Lord our God, you brought lasting honor to your name by rescuing your people from Egypt in a great display of power. But we have sinned and are full of wickedness. 16 In view of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn your furious anger away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. All the neighboring nations mock Jerusalem and your people because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors.

17 “O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary.

18 “O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy.

19 “O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name.”

Gabriel’s Message about the Anointed One

20 I went on praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, pleading with the Lord my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain. 21 As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. 23 The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision.

24 “A period of seventy sets of seven[c] has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.[d] 25 Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven[e] will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One[f]—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses,[g] despite the perilous times.

26 “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven,[h] the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. 27 The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven,[i] but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds,[j] he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration,[k] until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”

Footnotes

  1. 9:1 Or the Chaldeans.
  2. 9:2 See Jer 25:11-12; 29:10.
  3. 9:24a Hebrew seventy sevens.
  4. 9:24b Or the Most Holy One.
  5. 9:25a Hebrew Seven sevens plus sixty-two sevens.
  6. 9:25b Or an anointed one; similarly in 9:26. Hebrew reads a messiah.
  7. 9:25c Or and a moat, or and trenches.
  8. 9:26 Hebrew After sixty-two sevens.
  9. 9:27a Hebrew for one seven.
  10. 9:27b Hebrew And on the wing; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  11. 9:27c Hebrew an abomination of desolation.

Daniel’s Prayer

In the first year of Darius(A) son of Xerxes[a](B) (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian[b] kingdom— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy(C) years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting,(D) and in sackcloth and ashes.(E)

I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:(F)

“Lord, the great and awesome God,(G) who keeps his covenant of love(H) with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned(I) and done wrong.(J) We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away(K) from your commands and laws.(L) We have not listened(M) to your servants the prophets,(N) who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors,(O) and to all the people of the land.

“Lord, you are righteous,(P) but this day we are covered with shame(Q)—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered(R) us because of our unfaithfulness(S) to you.(T) We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you.(U) The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving,(V) even though we have rebelled against him;(W) 10 we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.(X) 11 All Israel has transgressed(Y) your law(Z) and turned away, refusing to obey you.

“Therefore the curses(AA) and sworn judgments(AB) written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned(AC) against you. 12 You have fulfilled(AD) the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster.(AE) Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like(AF) what has been done to Jerusalem.(AG) 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord(AH) our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth.(AI) 14 The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster(AJ) on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does;(AK) yet we have not obeyed him.(AL)

15 “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand(AM) and who made for yourself a name(AN) that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts,(AO) turn away(AP) your anger and your wrath(AQ) from Jerusalem,(AR) your city, your holy hill.(AS) Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn(AT) to all those around us.

17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor(AU) on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear,(AV) our God, and hear;(AW) open your eyes and see(AX) the desolation of the city that bears your Name.(AY) We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.(AZ) 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive!(BA) Lord, hear and act! For your sake,(BB) my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

The Seventy “Sevens”

20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing(BC) my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill(BD) 21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel,(BE) the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.(BF) 22 He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.(BG) 23 As soon as you began to pray,(BH) a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed.(BI) Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:(BJ)

24 “Seventy ‘sevens’[c] are decreed for your people and your holy city(BK) to finish[d] transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone(BL) for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness,(BM) to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.[e]

25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild(BN) Jerusalem until the Anointed One,[f](BO) the ruler,(BP) comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.(BQ) 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death(BR) and will have nothing.[g] The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood:(BS) War will continue until the end, and desolations(BT) have been decreed.(BU) 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’[h] In the middle of the ‘seven’[i] he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple[j] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed(BV) is poured out on him.[k][l]

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 9:1 Hebrew Ahasuerus
  2. Daniel 9:1 Or Chaldean
  3. Daniel 9:24 Or ‘weeks’; also in verses 25 and 26
  4. Daniel 9:24 Or restrain
  5. Daniel 9:24 Or the most holy One
  6. Daniel 9:25 Or an anointed one; also in verse 26
  7. Daniel 9:26 Or death and will have no one; or death, but not for himself
  8. Daniel 9:27 Or ‘week’
  9. Daniel 9:27 Or ‘week’
  10. Daniel 9:27 Septuagint and Theodotion; Hebrew wing
  11. Daniel 9:27 Or it
  12. Daniel 9:27 Or And one who causes desolation will come upon the wing of the abominable temple, until the end that is decreed is poured out on the desolated city