Daniel 9:1-19

Daniel’s Prayer for His People

1 In [the] first year [of] Darius, [the] son of Ahasuerus, 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, 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 ancestors and to all the people of the land.

7 "{Righteousness belongs to you, O Lord}, 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} in all the lands [to] which you have driven them, 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, because we have sinned against you.

9 {Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord, our God}, 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} 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} the face of Yahweh our God [so as] to turn from our iniquities and to attend closely to your faithfulness.

14 So Yahweh [has] kept watch over the calamity, and [now] he [has] brought it upon us. Indeed, Yahweh our God [is] righteous concerning all his works 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}, because through our sins and through the iniquities of our ancestors 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. Shine your face upon your desolate sanctuary {for your sake, O Lord}.

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} 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}, my God; because {your city and your people are called by your name}."

Daniel 9:1-19 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. That is, Xerxes
• [b]. Or "supplications"
• [c]. Or "fathers"
• [d]. Literally "for you Lord the righteousness"
• [e]. Literally "those near and those far"
• [f]. Hebrew "[to] which you have driven them there"
• [g]. Or "fathers"
• [h]. Literally "to [the] Lord our God the compassion and the forgiveness"
• [i]. Literally "which he gave to the face of us"
• [j]. Literally "we not implored"
• [k]. Or "truth"
• [l]. Or "his"
• [m]. Or "acts"
• [n]. Literally "the mountain of your holiness"
• [o]. Or "fathers"
• [p]. Or "let shine" or "cause to shine"
• [q]. Literally "for the sake of the Lord"
• [r]. Literally "to the face of you"
• [s]. Literally "for the sake of you"
• [t]. Literally "your name is called over your city and over your people"