Gabriel Gives Angelic Help and Interprets the Vision

15 ⌊And then⌋d when I, Daniel, saw the vision, and I was seeking understanding, there was one standing before me with the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard the voice of a human at the Ulai, and he called and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 17 And he came beside ⌊where I was standing⌋,e and ⌊when he came⌋f I became terrified and I fell prostrate on my face. And he said to me, “Understand, son of man,g that the vision is for the time of the end.”

18 And ⌊when he spoke⌋h with me I fell into a trance with my face to the ground, and he touched me and made me stand on my feet. 19 And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what will happen in the period of wrath,i for it refers to the appointed time of the end.

20 “The ram that you saw ⌊who had two horns⌋j represents the kings of Media and Persia.

21 “And the hairy he-goat is the ⌊kingdom⌋k of Greece, and the great horn that is between his eyes—he is the first king. 22 And the horn that was broken, and then there arose four horns in place of it—these are four kingdoms that will arise from his nation, but not with his power. 23 And at the end of their kingdom, when the transgressions are completed, a king will arise, fierce in countenance and skilled in riddles. 24 And his power will grow, but not by his own power, and he will cause fearful destruction, and he will succeed and ⌊he will act⌋,l and he will destroy the mighty and the people of the holy ones.m 25 And by his planningn he will make a success of deceit byo his hand, and in his ⌊mind⌋p he will ⌊boast⌋,q and in their ease he will destroy many, and even against the prince of princes he will rise up, and he will be broken, but not by human hands. 26 And the vision of the evening and the morning that has been ⌊described⌋,r it is true; and you, seal up the vision, for ⌊it refers to many days to come⌋.”s

27 And I, Daniel, was overcome, and I became ill for some days, and I ⌊performed⌋t the business of the king, and I was dismayed over the vision and ⌊I did not understand it⌋.u

Daniel’s Prayer for His People

9 In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus,a from the offspring of the Medes, who became king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his kingship I, Daniel, observed in the scrolls the number of the years that it was that were to be fulfilled according to the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet for the devastation of Jerusalem—seventy years.

3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and pleas for mercy,b in fasting and in sackcloth and ashes. 4 And I prayed to Yahweh my God, and I made confession and I said, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, keeping the covenant and loyal love with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and we have done wrong and we acted wickedly and we rebelled and have been turning aside from your commandments and from your ordinances. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestorsc and to all the people of the land.

7 “⌊Righteousness belongs to you, O Lord⌋,d and on us is open shame, just as it is this day to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to all Israel, ⌊those who are near and those who are far off⌋e in all the lands to which you have driven them,f because of their infidelity which they displayed against you. 8 Yahweh, on us is open shame, on our kings, on our princes, and on our ancestors,g because we have sinned against you. 9 ⌊Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord, our God⌋,h for we have rebelled against him, 10 and we have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God, by following his law ⌊which he placed before us⌋i by the hand of his servants the prophets.

11 “And all Israel transgressed your law and turned aside so as not to listen to your voice, and so the curse and the oath which was written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. 12 And so he has carried out his words which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring upon us a great calamity which was not done under all of heaven as it was done in Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all of this calamity has come upon us, and ⌊we have not implored⌋j the face of Yahweh our God so as to turn from our iniquities and to attend closely to your faithfulness.k 14 So Yahweh has kept watch over thel calamity, and now he has brought it upon us. Indeed, Yahweh our God is righteous concerning all his worksm that he has done, but we have not listened to his voice.

15 “And now, Lord our God, who have brought your people out from the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and you have made for yourself a name until this day—we have sinned, we have acted wickedly. 16 Lord, according to all your righteousness, please let your anger and your rage turn away from your city Jerusalem, ⌊your holy mountain⌋,n because through our sins and through the iniquities of our ancestorso Jerusalem and your people have become an object of mockery among all of our neighbors.

17 “And now, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy. Shinep your face upon your desolate sanctuary ⌊for your sake, O Lord⌋.q 18 Incline your ear, my God, and listen; open your eyes and look at our desolation and the city that is called by your name, for we are not presenting our pleas for mercy ⌊before you⌋r because of our righteousness, but rather because of your great compassion. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, pay heed and act! You must not delay ⌊for your sake⌋,s my God; because ⌊your city and your people are called by your name⌋.”t