9
Daniel’s Prayer for His People
1 In the first year of
ADarius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—
2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was
revealed as the word of the Loʀᴅ to
AJeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem,
namely, Aseventy years.
3 So I
1gave my attention to the Lord God to seek
Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.
4 I prayed to the Loʀᴅ my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the
Agreat and awesome God, who
Bkeeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,
5 Awe have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and
Brebelled, even
Cturning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.
6 “Moreover, we have not
Alistened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.
7 “
ARighteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us
1Bopen shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in
Call the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You.
8 “
1Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
9 “To the Lord our God
belong Acompassion and forgiveness,
1for we have
Brebelled against Him;
10 nor have we obeyed the voice of the Loʀᴅ our God, to walk in His
1teachings which He
Aset before us through His servants the prophets.
11 “Indeed
Aall Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the
Bcurse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him.
12 “Thus He has
Aconfirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our
1Brulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has
Cnot been done
anything like what was done to Jerusalem.
13 “As it is written in the
Alaw of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have
Bnot
1sought the favor of the Loʀᴅ our God by
Cturning from our iniquity and
2giving attention to Your truth.
14 “Therefore the Loʀᴅ has
1Akept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the Loʀᴅ our God is
Brighteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.
15 “And now, O Lord our God, who have
Abrought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have
Bmade a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked.
16 “O Lord, in accordance with all Your
1righteous acts, let now Your
Aanger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your
Bholy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people
have become a
Creproach to all those around us.
17 “So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for
1Your sake, O Lord,
Alet Your face shine on Your
Bdesolate sanctuary.
18 “O my God,
Aincline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and
Bsee our desolations and the city which is
Ccalled by Your name; for we are not
1Dpresenting our supplications before You on account of
2any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion.
19 “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God,
Ado not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”
Gabriel Brings an Answer
20 Now while I was
Aspeaking and praying, and
Bconfessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and
1presenting my supplication before the Loʀᴅ my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God,
21 while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man
AGabriel, whom I had seen in the vision
1previously,
2came to me
3in
my extreme weariness about the time of the
Bevening offering.
22 He gave
me instruction and talked with me and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with
Aunderstanding.
23 “At the
Abeginning of your supplications the
1command was issued, and I have come to tell
you, for you are
2Bhighly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain
Cunderstanding of the vision.
Seventy Weeks and the Messiah
24 “Seventy
1Aweeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to
2finish the transgression, to
3make an end of sin, to
Bmake atonement for iniquity, to bring in
Ceverlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and
4prophecy and to anoint the most holy
place. 25 “So you are to know and discern
that from the issuing of a
1Adecree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until
2BMessiah the
CPrince
there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with
3plaza and moat, even in times of distress.
26 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the
1Messiah will be
Acut off and have
2nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will
Bdestroy the city and the sanctuary. And
3its end
will come with a
Cflood; even to the end
4there will be war; desolations are determined.
27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of
1Aabominations
will come one who
2makes desolate, even until a
Bcomplete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who
2makes desolate.”