Daniel’s Prayer for the People

9 In the first year ^(A)of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— ² in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through ^(B)Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

^3 (C)Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ⁴ And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O ^(D)Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, ^5 (E)we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. ^6 (F)Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. ⁷ O Lord, ^(G)righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.

⁸ “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. ^9 (H)To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. ¹⁰ We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. ¹¹ Yes, ^(I)all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the ^(J)Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. ¹² And He has ^(K)confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; ^(L)for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.

^13 (M)“As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; ^(N)yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord has ^(O)kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for ^(P)the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. ¹⁵ And now, O Lord our God, ^(Q)who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself ^(R)a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!

¹⁶ “O Lord, ^(S)according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, ^(T)Your holy mountain; because for our sins, ^(U)and for the iniquities of our fathers, ^(V)Jerusalem and Your people ^(W)are a reproach to all those around us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, ^(X)and ^(Y)for the Lord’s sake ^[a]cause Your face to shine on ^[b]Your sanctuary, ^(Z)which is desolate. ^18 (AA)O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes ^(AB)and see our desolations, and the city ^(AC)which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

The Seventy-Weeks Prophecy

²⁰ Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, ²¹ yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man ^(AD)Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, ^[c]being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. ²² And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. ²³ At the beginning of your supplications the ^[d]command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly ^(AE)beloved; therefore ^(AF)consider the matter, and understand the vision:

Vision of the Glorious Man

10 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, whose ^(AS)name was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, ^[m]but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision. ² In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. ³ I ate no ^[n]pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

⁴ Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the ^[o]Tigris, ⁵ I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in ^(AT)linen, whose waist was ^(AU)girded with gold of Uphaz! ⁶ His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, ^(AV)and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.

⁷ And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. ⁸ Therefore I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my ^[p]vigor was turned to ^[q]frailty in me, and I retained no strength. ⁹ Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.

Prophecies Concerning Persia and Greece

^10 (AW)Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands. ¹¹ And he said to me, “O Daniel, ^(AX)man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling.

¹² Then he said to me, ^(AY)“Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, ^(AZ)your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. ^13 (BA)But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, ^(BB)Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people ^(BC)in the latter days, ^(BD)for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”

¹⁵ When he had spoken such words to me, ^(BE)I ^[r]turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. ¹⁶ And suddenly, ^(BF)one having the likeness of the ^[s]sons of men ^(BG)touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, “My lord, because of the vision ^(BH)my sorrows have ^[t]overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength. ¹⁷ For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.”

¹⁸ Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. ^19 (BI)And he said, “O man greatly beloved, ^(BJ)fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!”

So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

²⁰ Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight ^(BK)with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come. ²¹ But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, ^(BL)except Michael your prince.

Prayer for Relief from Contempt

A Song of Ascents.

The Seventy Sent Out

10 After these things the Lord appointed ^[a]seventy others also, and ^(A)sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. ² Then He said to them, ^(B)“The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore ^(C)pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. ³ Go your way; ^(D)behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. ^4 (E)Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and ^(F)greet no one along the road. ^5 (G)But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ ⁶ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. ^7 (H)And remain in the same house, ^(I)eating and drinking such things as they give, for ^(J)the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. ⁸ Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. ^9 (K)And heal the sick there, and say to them, ^(L)‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ^11 (M)‘The very dust of your city which clings to ^[b]us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.’ ^12 [c]But I say to you that ^(N)it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.

Woe to the Impenitent Cities^(O)

^13 (P)“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! ^(Q)For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. ^15 (R)And you, Capernaum, ^[d]who are ^(S)exalted to heaven, ^(T)will be brought down to Hades. ^16 (U)He who hears you hears Me, ^(V)he who rejects you rejects Me, and ^(W)he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”

The Seventy Return with Joy

¹⁷ Then ^(X)the ^[e]seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

¹⁸ And He said to them, ^(Y)“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ Behold, ^(Z)I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. ²⁰ Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but ^[f]rather rejoice because ^(AA)your names are written in heaven.”

Jesus Rejoices in the Spirit^(AB)

^21 (AC)In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. ^22 (AD)All^[g] things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and ^(AE)no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

²³ Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, ^(AF)“Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; ²⁴ for I tell you ^(AG)that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.”

The Parable of the Good Samaritan^(AH)

²⁵ And behold, a certain ^[h]lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, ^(AI)“Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”

²⁷ So he answered and said, ^(AJ)“ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ^(AK)‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

²⁸ And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and ^(AL)you will live.”

²⁹ But he, wanting to ^(AM)justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰ Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among ^[i]thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, ^(AN)he passed by on the other side. ³² Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. ³³ But a certain ^(AO)Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had ^(AP)compassion. ³⁴ So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ On the next day, ^[j]when he departed, he took out two ^(AQ)denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ ³⁶ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”

³⁷ And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”

Then Jesus said to him, ^(AR)“Go and do likewise.”

Mary and Martha Worship and Serve

³⁸ Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named ^(AS)Martha welcomed Him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, ^(AT)who also ^(AU)sat at ^[k]Jesus’ feet and heard His word. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

⁴¹ And ^[l]Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² But ^(AV)one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”