Daniel 9:1-19

Daniel’s Prayer

1 In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes^[a] (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian^[b] kingdom—

2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.

3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments,

5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws.

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 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you.

8 We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, LORD, because we have sinned against you.

9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him;

10 we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.

11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. “Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you.

12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.

13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth.

14 The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.

15 “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong.

16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.

17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary.

18 Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.

19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear 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.

Cross References

• 1. S Daniel 5:31
• 2. S Ezra 4:6
• 3. S 2 Chronicles 36:21; Jeremiah 29:10; Zechariah 1:12; Zechariah 7:5
• 4. S 2 Chronicles 20:3
• 5. S 2 Samuel 13:19; S Nehemiah 1:4; Jeremiah 29:12; Daniel 10:12; John 3:6
• 6. S 1 Kings 8:30
• 7. S Deuteronomy 7:21
• 8. Deuteronomy 7:9; S 1 Kings 8:23
• 9. S Jeremiah 8:14
• 10. Psalms 106:6
• 11. Isaiah 53:6
• 12. ver 11; Lamentations 1:20; S Lamentations 3:42
• 13. S 2 Kings 18:12
• 14. S 2 Chronicles 36:16; S Jeremiah 44:5; James 5:10; Revelation 10:7
• 15. S 2 Chronicles 29:6
• 16. S Ezra 9:15; S Isaiah 42:6
• 17. Ezra 9:7; Psalms 44:15
• 18. Deuteronomy 4:27; Amos 9:9
• 19. S Deuteronomy 7:3
• 20. S Jeremiah 3:25; S Jeremiah 24:9; S Ezekiel 39:23-24
• 21. S Nehemiah 9:33; S Jeremiah 14:20; S Ezekiel 16:63
• 22. S Exodus 34:7; S 2 Samuel 24:14; Jeremiah 42:12; Psalms 130:4
• 23. S Nehemiah 9:17; Jeremiah 14:7
• 24. 2 Kings 17:13-15; S 2 Kings 18:12; Revelation 10:7
• 25. S Jeremiah 2:29
• 26. 2 Kings 22:16
• 27. S Deuteronomy 11:26; S Deuteronomy 13:15; S Deuteronomy 28:15
• 28. 2 Kings 17:23
• 29. Isaiah 1:4-6; Jeremiah 8:5-10
• 30. S Isaiah 44:26; Zechariah 1:6
• 31. S Jeremiah 44:23
• 32. Jeremiah 30:7
• 33. Jeremiah 44:2-6; Ezekiel 5:9; Daniel 12:1; Joel 2:2; Zechariah 7:12
• 34. S Deuteronomy 4:29; S Isaiah 31:1
• 35. S Isaiah 9:13; Jeremiah 2:30
• 36. S Jeremiah 18:8; S Jeremiah 44:27
• 37. S Genesis 18:25; S 2 Chronicles 12:6; S Jeremiah 12:1
• 38. S Nehemiah 9:33; S Jeremiah 32:23; S Jeremiah 40:3
• 39. S Exodus 3:20; S Jeremiah 32:21
• 40. S Nehemiah 9:10
• 41. S Judges 5:11; Psalms 31:1
• 42. S Isaiah 5:25
• 43. S Psalms 85:3
• 44. Jeremiah 32:32
• 45. S Exodus 15:17; S Psalms 48:1; Zechariah 8:3
• 46. S Psalms 39:8; S Ezekiel 5:14
• 47. Numbers 6:24-26; Psalms 80:19
• 48. S Psalms 5:1
• 49. Psalms 116:1
• 50. Psalms 80:14
• 51. S Deuteronomy 28:10; S Isaiah 37:17; Jeremiah 7:10-12; Jeremiah 25:29
• 52. Luke 18:13
• 53. Psalms 44:23
• 54. S 1 Samuel 12:22

Footnotes

• [a] Hebrew "Ahasuerus"
• [b] Or "Chaldean"