The Daily Audio Bible

9 In the first year of Daryavesh the son of Achashverosh, a Mede by birth who was made king over the kingdom of the Kasdim — ² in the first year of his reign, I, Dani’el, was reading the Scriptures and thinking about the number of years which Adonai had told Yirmeyah the prophet would be the period of Yerushalayim’s desolation, seventy years. ³ I turned to Adonai, God, to seek an answer, pleading with him in prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. ⁴ I prayed to Adonai my God and made this confession:

“Please, Adonai, great and fearsome God, who keeps his covenant and extends grace to those who love him and observe his mitzvot! ⁵ We have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled and turned away from your mitzvot and rulings. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our leaders, our ancestors and to all the people of the land.

⁷ “To you, Adonai, belongs righteousness; but to us today belongs shame — to us, the men of Y’hudah, the inhabitants of Yerushalayim and all Isra’el, including those nearby and those far away, throughout all the countries where you have driven them; because they broke faith with you. ⁸ Yes, Adonai, shame falls on us, our kings, our leaders and our ancestors; because we sinned against you. ⁹ It is for Adonai our God to show compassion and forgiveness, because we rebelled against him. ¹⁰ We didn’t listen to the voice of Adonai our God, so that we could live by his laws, which he presented to us through his servants the prophets. ¹¹ Yes, all Isra’el flouted your Torah and turned away, unwilling to listen to your voice. Therefore the curse and oath written in the Torah of Moshe the servant of God was poured out on us, because we sinned against him. ¹² He carried out the threats he spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us disaster so great that under all of heaven, nothing has been done like what has been done to Yerushalayim. ¹³ As written in the Torah of Moshe, this whole disaster came upon us. Yet we did not appease Adonai our God by renouncing our wrongdoing and discerning your truth. ¹⁴ So Adonai watched for the right moment to bring this disaster upon us, for Adonai our God was just in everything he did, yet we didn’t listen when he spoke.

¹⁵ “Now, Adonai our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand, thereby winning renown for yourself, as is the case today — we sinned, we acted wickedly. ¹⁶ Adonai, in keeping with all your justice, please allow your anger and fury to be turned away from your city Yerushalayim, your holy mountain; because it is due to our sins and the wrongdoings of our ancestors that Yerushalayim and your people have become objects of scorn among everyone around us. ¹⁷ Therefore, our God, listen to the prayer and pleadings of your servant; and cause your face to shine on your desolated sanctuary, for your own sake. ¹⁸ My God, turn your ear, and hear; open your eyes and see how desolated we are, as well as the city which bears your name. For we plead with you not because of our own righteousness, but because of your compassion. ¹⁹ Adonai, hear! Adonai, forgive! Adonai, pay attention, and don’t delay action — for your own sake, my God, because your city and your people bear your name!”

²⁰ While I was speaking, praying, confessing my own sin and the sin of my people Isra’el, and pleading before Adonai my God for the holy mountain of my God — ²¹ yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gavri’el, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, swooped down on me in full flight at about the time of the evening sacrifice, ²² and explained things to me. He said, “I have come now, Dani’el, to enable you to understand this vision clearly. ²³ At the beginning of your prayers, an answer was given; and I have come to say what it is; because you are greatly loved. Therefore look into this answer, and understand the vision.

²⁴ “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and for your holy city for putting an end to the transgression, for making an end of sin, for forgiving iniquity, for bringing in everlasting justice, for setting the seal on vision and prophet, and for anointing the Especially Holy Place. ²⁵ Know, therefore, and discern that seven weeks [of years] will elapse between the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Yerushalayim until an anointed prince comes. It will remain built for sixty-two weeks [of years], with open spaces and moats; but these will be troubled times. ²⁶ Then, after the sixty-two weeks, Mashiach will be cut off and have nothing. The people of a prince yet to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary, but his end will come with a flood, and desolations are decreed until the war is over. ²⁷ He will make a strong covenant with leaders for one week [of years]. For half of the week he will put a stop to the sacrifice and the grain offering. On the wing of detestable things the desolator will come and continue until the already decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.”

10 In the third year of Koresh king of Persia, a word was revealed to Dani’el, also called Belt’shatzar. The word was certain: a great war. He understood the word, having gained understanding in the vision.

² At that time I, Dani’el, had been mourning for three whole weeks. ³ I hadn’t eaten any food that satisfied me — neither meat nor wine had entered my mouth, and I didn’t anoint myself once, until three full weeks had passed.

⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I was on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, ⁵ when I looked up, and there before me was a man dressed in linen wearing a belt made of fine Ufaz gold. ⁶ His body was like beryl, his face looked like lightning and his eyes like fiery torches; his arms and feet were the color of burnished bronze; and when he spoke, it sounded like the roar of a crowd. ⁷ Only I, Dani’el, saw the vision; the men who were with me did not see the vision; however, a great trembling fell over them; so that they rushed to hide themselves. ⁸ Thus I was left alone; and when I saw this great vision, there was no strength left in me — my face, normally pleasant-looking, became disfigured; and I had no strength.

⁹ I heard his voice speaking; and when I heard him speaking, I fell down in a faint, with my face to the ground. ¹⁰ Then a hand touched me and raised me, tottering, to my hands and knees. ¹¹ He said to me, “Dani’el, you are a greatly loved man. Now pay attention to the words I am saying to you, and stand upright; for it is to you that I have been sent now.” After he had said this to me, I stood up, trembling. ¹² Then he said to me, “Don’t be afraid, Dani’el; because since the first day that you determined to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words have been heard; and I have come because of what you said. ¹³ The prince of the kingdom of Persia prevented me from coming for twenty-one days; but Mikha’el, one of the chief princes, came to assist me; so that I was no longer needed there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴ So I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the acharit-hayamim; for there is still another vision which will relate to those days.”

¹⁵ After he had said these things to me, I looked down at the ground and couldn’t speak. ¹⁶ Then someone who looked like a human being touched my lips, after which I could open my mouth and speak; I said to the one standing in front of me, “My lord, it is because of the vision that I am seized with such anguish; I don’t have any strength. ¹⁷ For how can this servant of my lord speak with my lord, when my strength and breath have failed me?” ¹⁸ Then, again someone who looked human touched me and revived me. ¹⁹ He said, “You man so greatly loved, don’t be afraid. Shalom to you; and be strong, yes, truly strong.” His speaking to me strengthened me, and I said, “My lord, keep speaking; because you’ve given me strength.” ²⁰ Then he said, “Do you know why I came to you? Although now I must return to fight the prince of Persia; and when I leave, the prince of Greece will come; ²¹ nevertheless, I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. There is no one standing with me against them except Mikha’el your prince;

11 however, I was already standing up to support and help Daryavesh the Mede in the first year of his reign.

¹⁸ Children, this is the Last Hour. You have heard that an Anti-Messiah is coming; and in fact, many anti-Messiahs have arisen now — which is how we know that this is the Last Hour. ¹⁹ They went out from us, but they weren’t part of us; for had they been part of us, they would have remained with us.

²⁰ But you have received the Messiah’s anointing from HaKadosh, and you know all this. ²¹ It is not because you don’t know the truth that I have written to you, but because you do know it, and because no lie has its origin in the truth. ²² Who is a liar at all, if not the person who denies that Yeshua is the Messiah? Such a person is an anti-Messiah — he is denying the Father and the Son. ²³ Everyone who denies the Son is also without the Father, but the person who acknowledges the Son has the Father as well. ²⁴ Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you will also remain in union with both the Son and the Father. ²⁵ And this is what he has promised us: eternal life.

²⁶ I have written you these things about the people who are trying to deceive you. ²⁷ As for you, the Messianic anointing you received from the Father remains in you, so that you have no need for anyone to teach you. On the contrary, as his Messianic anointing continues to teach you about all things, and is true, not a counterfeit, so, just as he taught you, remain united with him.

²⁸ And now, children, remain united with him; so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink back from him in shame at his coming. ²⁹ If you know that he is righteous, you should also know that he is the Father of everyone who does what is right.

3 See what love the Father has lavished on us in letting us be called God’s children! For that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it has not known him. ² Dear friends, we are God’s children now; and it has not yet been made clear what we will become. We do know that when he appears, we will be like him; because we will see him as he really is.

³ And everyone who has this hope in him continues purifying himself, since God is pure. ⁴ Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah — indeed, sin is violation of Torah. ⁵ You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him. ⁶ So no one who remains united with him continues sinning; everyone who does continue sinning has neither seen him nor known him.