BibleStudyIt Daniel 9
- Daniel Chapter 9
9 This is what happened in the first year that Darius ruled Babylonia. He was the son of Xerxes, a descendant of the Medes. [ a ] He became the king of Babylonia. 2 In the first year that Darius was king, I, Daniel, was reading God's book. I read the message that the Lord had given to his prophet, Jeremiah. He told Jeremiah that Jerusalem would continue to be a heap of stones for 70 years. [ b ]
3 So I turned to my Lord God, to ask him for help. I prayed to him and I ate no food. I wore clothes of rough sackcloth. I put ashes on myself to show that I was upset. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God. I agreed that we were guilty and I prayed this prayer:
‘Our Lord, you are a great God and we give you honour. In your covenant, you have promised to love your people. You continue to be faithful to those people who love you and obey your commands. 5 We have done bad things that are wicked and evil. We have turned against you. We have not obeyed your laws and your teaching. 6 We did not listen to your servants, the prophets. They spoke your message to our kings, to our rulers and to our ancestors. They spoke to all the people of our nation.
7 Our Lord, you always do what is right. Today we are very ashamed. The people of Judah, Jerusalem and all Israel have not been faithful to you. You have sent our people away to many countries. Some are near and some are far away. We are all ashamed because we have turned away from you. 8 Our kings, our leaders and our ancestors have turned away from you, Lord . So we are very ashamed. 9 Our Lord God, we have turned against you. But you are kind and you forgive people. 10 We have not obeyed the Lord our God. You sent your servants, the prophets, to give us your laws. But we have not lived in the way that your laws taught us.
11 All the people of Israel have turned away from your laws. We have refused to obey you. Your servant Moses gave us your laws. He warned us about your punishments. Now you have punished us in the way that he said. We have turned away from you. 12 So you have done what you promised to do to us and to our rulers. You have caused us to have terrible trouble. You have punished Jerusalem with more trouble than has ever happened to any other city. 13 All this trouble has come to us in the way that Moses wrote in the book of your laws. But we have still not tried to please you, the Lord our God. We have not turned away from our sins. We have not learned your true teaching. 14 So you were ready to punish us with this trouble. You are always right in everything that you do. You are right to punish us because we have not obeyed you.
15 Our Lord God, you used your great power to bring your people safely out of Egypt. You are still famous today because of what you did then. We know that we have done things that are wrong and wicked. 16 Our Lord, please stop being angry with us. Stop punishing your own city, Jerusalem, your holy mountain. Because of our sins and the evil things that our ancestors did, other people insult us. All the people who live near us laugh at Jerusalem and your people. So please do what is right, as you always do.
17 Our God, please accept my prayer. Please do what I have asked for. Your temple is now a heap of stones. Please bless it again, so that people will know that you are great. 18 Listen to us, my God. Our towns have become heaps of stones. See what has happened to the city that belongs to you. We do not ask you to do this because we are righteous people. We ask you because you are very kind. 19 Lord, please listen! Lord, please forgive us. Lord, please do what we have asked you to do. My God, please do it quickly, so that people give you honour. Help your city and your people who belong to you.’
20 I continued to pray and tell God about our sins. I agreed that I had done wrong things, and that my people, the Israelites, had also done wrong things. I asked the Lord my God to help Jerusalem, his holy mountain. 21 While I was praying, Gabriel came towards me. He was the same man that I had seen in the first vision. He flew quickly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He said to me, ‘Daniel, I have come to teach you, so that you can understand these things. 23 As soon as you started to pray, God sent his message. I have come to tell you the message, because you are very important to God. Listen carefully, so that you understand the meaning of your vision.
24 God has decided the time of punishment for your people and your holy city. It will continue for 70 weeks. [ c ] That will finish the punishment for their sins. The people will no longer turn against God. They will have paid the price for their sins. God will cause them to live for ever in a way that is right. God will show that the visions and messages of the prophets are true. The Most Holy Place will belong to God again.
25 I want you, Daniel, to understand this properly. There will be a command to build Jerusalem again. Then 7 weeks will pass, and 62 weeks will also pass. After that, a ruler that God has chosen will arrive. [ d ] People will build the city of Jerusalem again. It will have streets and a strong wall around it. But there will be a lot of trouble at that time. 26 After the 62 weeks have passed, people will kill the ruler that God had chosen. He will have nothing. Then a foreign ruler and his army will attack the city and the temple. He will destroy them quickly, like a flood of water. War and terrible trouble will continue until the end that God has decided.
27 The foreign ruler will make an agreement with many people. That agreement will continue for one week. In the middle of that week, he will stop the sacrifices and offerings in the temple. Instead, he will put a disgusting thing there that causes trouble. It will remain there until God finally destroys the ruler who destroys. His end will happen at the time that God has decided.’
9 These things happened during the first year that Darius son of Ahasuerus [ a ] was king. Darius was a Mede by birth, but he was appointed to be the king of Babylon. 2 During his first year as king, I was studying the Scriptures [ b ] and noticed in the Lord ’s message to Jeremiah that 70 years would pass before Jerusalem would be rebuilt.
3 Then I turned to the Lord God. I prayed to him and asked him for help. I did not eat any food. I put ashes on my head and put on the clothes that showed I was sad. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and told him about all my sins. I said,
“Lord, you are a great and awesome God. You keep your agreement of love and kindness with people who love you. You keep your agreement with the people who obey your commands.
5 “But we have sinned. We have done wrong. We have done evil things. We turned against you. We turned away from your commands and good decisions. 6 The prophets were your servants. They spoke for you to our kings, to our leaders, to our fathers, and to the common people in our country. But we did not listen to them.
7 “Lord, you are innocent, and the shame belongs to us, even now. Shame belongs to the people from Judah and Jerusalem, and to all the people of Israel, to those who are near and to those you scattered among many nations. They should be ashamed of all the evil things they did against you.
8 “ Lord , we should all be ashamed. All our kings and leaders should be ashamed. Our ancestors should be ashamed, because we sinned against you.
9 “But, Lord our God, you are kind and forgiving, even though we rebelled against you. 10 We have not obeyed the Lord our God. He used his servants, the prophets, and gave us laws, but we have not obeyed his laws. 11 All the people of Israel disobeyed your teachings and turned away from you. They did not listen to you. We sinned, so you did what you promised to do. All the curses and promises [ c ] in the Law of Moses, your servant, happened to us.
12 “God said those things would happen to us and our leaders, and he made them happen. He made terrible things happen to us. No other city suffered the way Jerusalem suffered. 13 All those terrible things happened to us. This happened just as it is written in the Law of Moses, but we still have not asked the Lord our God for help. We still have not stopped sinning. We still do not pay attention to your truth, Lord. 14 The Lord kept the terrible things ready for us—he made them happen to us. The Lord our God did this because he is fair in everything he does. But we still have not listened to him.
15 “Lord our God, you used your power and brought us out of Egypt. We are your people. You are famous because of that, even today. We have sinned and done terrible things. 16 Lord, we and our ancestors sinned against you, so your people and your city became a disgrace to everyone around us. You do so many good things, so stop being angry at Jerusalem, your city, your holy mountain.
17 “Now, our God, hear your servant’s prayer. Listen to my prayer for mercy. For your own sake, do good things for your holy place. [ d ] 18 My God, listen to me! Open your eyes and see all the terrible things that have happened to us. See what has happened to the city that is called by your name. I am not saying we are good people. That is not why I am asking these things. I am asking these things because I know you are kind. 19 Lord, listen to me! Forgive us! Lord, pay attention, and then do something! Don’t wait! Do something now! Do it for your own good! My God, do something now, for your city and your people who are called by your name.”
20 I was praying to the Lord my God about his holy mountain and telling about my sins and the sins of the people of Israel. 21 That was the time of the evening sacrifices. While I was still praying, Gabriel, the one I saw in the first vision, flew quickly to me and touched me. He came at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 Gabriel helped me understand the things I wanted to know. He said, “Daniel, I have come to give you wisdom and to help you understand. 23 When you first started praying, the command was given to come speak to you. God loves you very much! You will understand this command, and you will understand the vision.
24 “God has allowed 70 weeks [ e ] for your people and your holy city, Daniel. The 70 weeks are ordered for these reasons: to stop doing bad things, to stop sinning, to make people pure, to bring the goodness that continues forever, to put a seal on visions and prophets, and to dedicate a very holy place.
25 “Learn and understand these things, Daniel. From the time that the message went out to go back and rebuild Jerusalem until the time for the chosen king [ f ] to come will be seven weeks. Then Jerusalem will be rebuilt. There will again be places for people to meet together in Jerusalem, and there will be a ditch around the city to protect it. Jerusalem will be built for 62 weeks, but there will be many troubles during that time. 26 After the 62 weeks, the chosen one will be killed. [ g ] He will be gone. [ h ] Then the people of the future leader will destroy the city and the holy place. That end will come like a flood. War will continue until the end. God has ordered that place to be completely destroyed.
27 “Then the future ruler will make an agreement with many people. That agreement will continue for one week. The offerings and sacrifices will stop for a half of a week. And a destroyer will come. He will do terrible, destructive things, [ i ] but God has ordered that destroyer to be completely destroyed.”
9 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;
2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
4 And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7 O Lord , righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.
12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.
14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16 O Lord , according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.
18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.
19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God;
21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
9 In the first year of ( A ) Darius 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 ( B ) Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely , ( C ) seventy years. 3 So I gave my [ a ] attention to the Lord God, to seek Him by prayer and pleading, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed, and said, “Oh, Lord, the ( D ) great and awesome God, who ( E ) keeps His covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5 ( F ) we have sinned, we have done wrong, and [ b ] acted wickedly and ( G ) rebelled, even ( H ) turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. 6 Moreover, we have not ( I ) listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our leaders, our fathers, and all the people of the land.
7 “ ( J ) Righteousness belongs to You, Lord, but to us [ c ] ( K ) open 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 ( L ) all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. 8 [ d ] Open shame belongs to us, Lord , to our kings, our leaders, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 To the Lord our God belong ( M ) compassion and forgiveness, [ e ] because we have ( N ) rebelled against Him; 10 and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His [ f ] teachings which He ( O ) set before us through His servants the prophets. 11 Indeed, ( P ) all Israel has violated Your Law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the ( Q ) curse has gushed forth on us, along with the oath which is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him. 12 So He has ( R ) confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our [ g ] ( S ) rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great disaster; for under the entire heaven there has ( T ) not been done anything like what was done in Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the ( U ) Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us; yet we have ( V ) not [ h ] sought the favor of the Lord our God by ( W ) turning from our wrongdoing and [ i ] giving attention to Your truth. 14 So the Lord has [ j ] ( X ) kept the disaster in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is ( Y ) righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.
15 “And now, Lord, our God, You who ( Z ) brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and ( AA ) made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked. 16 Lord, in accordance with all Your [ k ] righteous acts, let now Your ( AB ) anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your ( AC ) holy mountain; for because of our sins and the wrongdoings of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become an ( AD ) object of taunting to all those around us. 17 So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his pleas, and for [ l ] Your sake, Lord, ( AE ) let Your face shine on Your ( AF ) desolate sanctuary. 18 My God, ( AG ) incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and ( AH ) see our desolations and the city which is ( AI ) called by Your name; for we are not [ m ] ( AJ ) presenting our pleas before You based on [ n ] any merits of our own, but based on Your great compassion. 19 Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, my God, ( AK ) do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”
20 While I was still ( AL ) speaking and praying, and ( AM ) confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and [ o ] presenting my plea before the Lord my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, 21 while I was still speaking in prayer, the man ( AN ) Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision [ p ] previously, [ q ] came to me [ r ] in my extreme weariness about the time of the ( AO ) evening offering. 22 And he instructed me and talked with me and said, “Daniel, I have come now to give you insight with ( AP ) understanding. 23 At the ( AQ ) beginning of your pleas the [ s ] command was issued, and I have come to tell you , because you are [ t ] ( AR ) highly esteemed; so pay attention to the message and gain ( AS ) understanding of the vision.
24 “Seventy [ u ] ( AT ) weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to [ v ] finish the wrongdoing, to [ w ] make an end of sin, to ( AU ) make atonement for guilt, to bring in ( AV ) everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and [ x ] prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. 25 So you are to know and understand that from the issuing of a [ y ] ( AW ) decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until [ z ] ( AX ) Messiah the ( AY ) Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with [ aa ] streets and moat, even in times of distress. 26 Then after the sixty-two weeks, the [ ab ] Messiah will be ( AZ ) cut off and have [ ac ] nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will ( BA ) destroy the city and the sanctuary. And [ ad ] its end will come with a ( BB ) flood; even to the end [ ae ] there will be war; desolations are determined. 27 And he will confirm a 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 [ af ] ( BC ) abominations will come the one who [ ag ] makes desolate, until a ( BD ) complete destruction, one that is [ ah ] decreed, gushes forth on the one who [ ai ] makes desolate.”
9 In the first year of Darius ( A ) son of Xerxes [ a ] ( B ) (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 ( C ) years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, ( D ) and in sackcloth and ashes. ( E )
4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: ( F )
“Lord, the great and awesome God, ( G ) who keeps his covenant of love ( H ) with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned ( I ) and done wrong. ( J ) We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away ( K ) from your commands and laws. ( L ) 6 We have not listened ( M ) to your servants the prophets, ( N ) who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, ( O ) and to all the people of the land.
7 “Lord, you are righteous, ( P ) but this day we are covered with shame ( Q ) —the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered ( R ) us because of our unfaithfulness ( S ) to you. ( T ) 8 We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord , because we have sinned against you. ( U ) 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, ( V ) even though we have rebelled against him; ( W ) 10 we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. ( X ) 11 All Israel has transgressed ( Y ) your law ( Z ) and turned away, refusing to obey you.
“Therefore the curses ( AA ) and sworn judgments ( AB ) written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned ( AC ) against you. 12 You have fulfilled ( AD ) the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. ( AE ) Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like ( AF ) what has been done to Jerusalem. ( AG ) 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 ( AH ) our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. ( AI ) 14 The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster ( AJ ) on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; ( AK ) yet we have not obeyed him. ( AL )
15 “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand ( AM ) and who made for yourself a name ( AN ) that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, ( AO ) turn away ( AP ) your anger and your wrath ( AQ ) from Jerusalem, ( AR ) your city, your holy hill. ( AS ) Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn ( AT ) to all those around us.
17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor ( AU ) on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, ( AV ) our God, and hear; ( AW ) open your eyes and see ( AX ) the desolation of the city that bears your Name. ( AY ) We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. ( AZ ) 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! ( BA ) Lord, hear and act! For your sake, ( BB ) my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”
20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing ( BC ) my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill ( BD ) — 21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, ( BE ) the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. ( BF ) 22 He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. ( BG ) 23 As soon as you began to pray, ( BH ) a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. ( BI ) Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision: ( BJ )
24 “Seventy ‘sevens’ [ c ] are decreed for your people and your holy city ( BK ) to finish [ d ] transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone ( BL ) for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, ( BM ) to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. [ e ]
25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild ( BN ) Jerusalem until the Anointed One, [ f ] ( BO ) the ruler, ( BP ) comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. ( BQ ) 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death ( BR ) and will have nothing. [ g ] The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: ( BS ) War will continue until the end, and desolations ( BT ) have been decreed. ( BU ) 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ [ h ] In the middle of the ‘seven’ [ i ] he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple [ j ] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed ( BV ) is poured out on him. [ k ] ” [ l ]