Daniel 9:1-3

Daniel's Prayer for His People

1 1In the first year of 2Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a 3Mede, who was made king over the realm of the 4Chaldeans--
2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to 5the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.
3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by 6prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

Daniel 9:1-3 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 9

This chapter contains a prayer of Daniel, and the answer to it. The time, occasion, and manner of his prayer, or circumstances of it, are observed, Da 9:1-3, the parts of it, an address unto God, under various suitable epithets and characters, Da 9:4 confession of sin, of his own, of the inhabitants of the land, kings, princes, and people, which are largely dwelt upon and exaggerated, Da 9:5-15 and petitions for mercy, Da 9:16-19, then the answer follows; the time when it was ordered and given, and the person by whom it was sent, are expressed, Da 9:20-23 who delivered to him the vision of the seventy weeks to be considered by him; in which both the work of the Messiah, and the time of his coming, are clearly pointed out, Da 9:24-27.

Cross References 6

  • 1. Daniel 11:1
  • 2. See Daniel 5:31
  • 3. [Daniel 8:20]
  • 4. Daniel 5:30
  • 5. [Ezra 1:1; Jeremiah 25:12]
  • 6. ver. 17, 18, 23; [Nehemiah 1:4]
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.