Chapter 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 Lord 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 Lord 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 Lord 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 Lord our God by cturning from our iniquity and 2giving attention to Your truth.

14 “Therefore the Lord has 1akept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the Lord 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 Lord 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.”