Daniel 9–10

Daniel’s Prayer

9In the first year of Darius, ^wthe son of Ahasuerus, a Mede by birth, who was ruler over the kingdom of the Chaldeans: ²In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the books according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet that the number of years for the desolation of Jerusalem would be 70. ^x3So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ^y

⁴I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

Ah, Lord—the great and awe-inspiring God ^zwho keeps His gracious covenant ^awith those who love Him ^band keep His commands ^c— ⁵we have sinned, ^ddone wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, ^eand turned away from Your commands and ordinances. ^f6We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, ^gwho spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, fathers, and all the people of the land.

⁷Lord, righteousness belongs to You, ^hbut this day public shame belongs to us: the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel—those who are near and those who are far, in all the countries where You have dispersed them because of the disloyalty they have shown toward You. ⁸Lord, public shame ⁱbelongs to us, our kings, our leaders, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. ^j9Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God, though we have rebelled against Him ¹⁰and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by following His instructions that He set before us through His servants ^kthe prophets.

¹¹All Israel has broken Your law and turned away, ^lrefusing to obey You. The promised curse ^mwritten in the law of Moses, ⁿthe servant of God, has been poured out on us because we have sinned against Him. ¹²He has carried out His words ^othat He spoke against us and against our rulers ^pqby bringing on us so great a disaster that nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever been done ^runder all of heaven. ¹³Just as it is written in the law of Moses, ^sall this disaster has come on us, yet we have not appeased ^tthe Lord our God by turning from our iniquities and paying attention to Your truth. ^u14So the Lord kept the disaster in mind and brought it on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all He has done. But we have not obeyed Him.

¹⁵Now, Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand ^vand made Your name renowned ^was it is this day, we have sinned, we have acted wickedly. ¹⁶Lord, in keeping with all Your righteous acts, may Your anger and wrath ^xturn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; ^yfor because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become an object of ridicule to all those around us.

¹⁷Therefore, our God, hear the prayer and the petitions of Your servant. Show Your favor ^zto Your desolate sanctuary ^afor the Lord’s sake. ¹⁸Listen, ^bmy God, and hear. Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city called by Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You based on our righteous acts, but based on Your abundant compassion. ¹⁹Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and act! My God, for Your own sake, do not delay, ^cbecause Your city and Your people are called by Your name.

The 70 Weeks of Years

²⁰While I was speaking, praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, ^dand presenting my petition before Yahweh my God concerning the holy mountain of my God— ²¹while I was praying, Gabriel, ^ethe man I had seen in the first vision, ^fcame to me in my extreme weariness, about the time of the evening offering. ^g22He gave me this explanation: “Daniel, I’ve come now to give you understanding. ^h23At the beginning of your petitions an answer went out, and I have come to give it, for you are treasured by God. ⁱSo consider the message and understand the vision: ^j

²⁴Seventy weeks ^kare decreed ^l

about your people and your holy city—

to bring the rebellion to an end,

to put a stop to sin,

to wipe away iniquity,

to bring in everlasting righteousness, ^m

to seal up vision and prophecy,

and to anoint the most holy place.

²⁵Know and understand this:

From the issuing of the decree

to restore and rebuild Jerusalem ⁿ

until Messiah ^othe Prince ^p

will be seven weeks and 62 weeks. ^q

It will be rebuilt with a plaza and a moat,

but in difficult times.

²⁶After those 62 weeks ^r

the Messiah will be cut off ^s

and will have nothing.

The people of the coming prince

will destroy the city ^tand the sanctuary.

The ^uend will come with a flood, ^v

and until the end there will be ^wwar;

desolations are decreed.

²⁷He will make a firm covenant ^x

with many for one week, ^y

but in the middle of the week

he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering.

And the abomination of desolation ^z

will be on a wing ^aof the temple ^bc

until the decreed destruction ^d

is poured out on the desolator.”

Vision of a Glorious One

10In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, ^ea message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. ^fThe message was true and was about a great conflict. He understood the message and had understanding of the vision. ^g

²In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks. ^h3I didn’t eat any rich food, ⁱno meat or wine entered my mouth, and I didn’t put any oil on my body until the three weeks were over. ⁴On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, ^jas I was standing on the bank of the great river, ^kthe Tigris, ⁵I looked up, and there was a man dressed in linen, ^lwith a belt of gold ^mfrom Uphaz ^noaround his waist. ⁶His body was like topaz, ^phis face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, ^qhis arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. ^r

⁷Only I, Daniel, saw the vision. ^sThe men who were with me did not see it, ^tbut a great terror fell on them, ^uand they ran and hid. ⁸I was left alone, looking at this great vision. ^vNo strength was left in me; my face grew deathly pale, ^wxand I was powerless. ⁹I heard the words he said, and when I heard them I fell into a deep sleep, ^yzwith my face to the ground.

Angelic Conflict

¹⁰Suddenly, a hand touched me and raised me to my hands and knees. ¹¹He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man treasured by God. ^aUnderstand the words that I’m saying to you. Stand on your feet, ^bfor I have now been sent to you.” ^cAfter he said this to me, I stood trembling.

¹²“Don’t be afraid, ^dDaniel,” he said to me, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, ^eyour prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers. ^f13But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for 21 days. Then Michael, ^gone of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia. ^h14Now I have come to help you understand what will happen to your people in the last days, ⁱfor the vision refers to those days.” ^j

¹⁵While he was saying these words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and was speechless. ^k16Suddenly one with human likeness ^ltouched my lips. ^mI opened my mouth and said to the one standing in front of me, “My lord, because of the vision, anguish overwhelms me and I am powerless. ⁿ¹⁷How can someone like me, ^oyour servant, ^pspeak with someone like you, my lord? Now I have no strength, and there is no breath in me.”

¹⁸Then the one with human likeness touched me again and strengthened me. ^q19He said, “Don’t be afraid, ^ryou who are ^streasured by God. ^tPeace to you; be very strong!” ^u

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

²⁰He said, “Do you know why I’ve come to you? I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I leave, the prince of Greece will come. ^w21No one has the courage to support me against them except Michael, ^xyour prince. However, I will tell you what is recorded in the book of truth.