Daniel 9:2–23

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