Daniel 9
1 In the first year of Darius the son of Assuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who reigned over the kingdom of the Chaldeans,
It was the first year of Darius the Mede, son of Ahasuerus, after he had become king of the Babylonians.
2 I Daniel understood by books the number of the years which was the word of the Lord to the prophet Jeremias, [even] seventy years for the accomplishment of the desolation of Jerusalem.
During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures as given to the prophet Jeremiah that the time of seventy years for Jerusalem to lie desolate would soon be fulfilled.
3 And I set my face towards the Lord God, to seek [him] diligently by prayer and supplications, with fastings and sackcloth.
So I turned to the Lord God in prayer. I fasted and wore sackcloth and ashes, and I pleaded with him in prayer to act.
4 And I prayed to the Lord my God, and confessed, and said, O Lord, the great and wonderful God, keeping your covenant and your mercy to them that love you, and to them that keep your commandments; we have sinned,
I prayed to the Lord my God, and confessed, saying, “Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always keep your promises and show your trustworthy love to those who love you and keep your commandments.
5 we have done iniquity, we have transgressed, and we have departed and turned aside from your commandments and from your judgements:
But we have sinned, we have done wrong. We have acted wickedly, we have rebelled against you. We have turned away from your commandments and your laws.
6 and we have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, and our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
We have not paid attention to your servants the prophets who spoke in your name to our kings and leaders and forefathers, and to everybody in the country.
7 To you, O Lord, [belongs] righteousness, an to us confusion of face, as at this day; to the men of Juda, and to the dwellers in Jerusalem, and to all Israel, to them that are near, and to them that are far off in all the earth, wherever you has scattered them, for the sin which they committed.
Lord, you always do what is right, but we continue to be ashamed to this very day—we the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those nearby and those far away, those of every country where you have driven them because of their unfaithfulness to you.
8 In you, O Lord, is our righteousness, and to us [belongs] confusion of faced, and to our kings, and to our princes, and to our fathers, forasmuch as we have sinned.
Public shame is ours Lord, and on our kings and princes and forefathers, because we have sinned against you.
9 To you, the Lord our God, [belong] compassions and forgivenesses, whereas we have departed [from you];
Yet you, the Lord our God, are compassionate and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against you.
10 neither have we listened to the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by the hands of his servants the prophets.
We have not obeyed what you, the Lord God, have told us. We have not followed your law that you gave us through your servants the prophets.
11 Moreover all Israel have transgressed your law, and have refused to listen to your voice; so the curse has come upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.
The whole of Israel has broken your law and turned away from you, not listening to what you had to say. That's why the condemnation that comes from our broken promise has been poured out on us—because of our sin, as made clear in the Law of Moses, the servant of the Lord.
12 And he has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us, and against our judges who judged us, [by] bringing upon us great evils, such as have not happened under the whole heaven, according to what has happened in Jerusalem.
You have carried out what you warned us about, against us and against our rulers—such a terrible punishment brought upon Jerusalem, the worst that has ever happened in the whole world.
13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all these evils have come upon us: yet we have not implored the Lord our God, that we might turn away from our iniquities, and have understanding in all your truth.
Just as the Law of Moses said, all this punishment has fallen on us, but we still have not asked you, the Lord our God, to be favorable to us, turning away from our sins and paying attention to your truth.
14 The Lord also has watched, and brought the evils upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his work which he has executed, but we have not listened to his voice.
You were ready to punish us, and you were right to do everything you have done, for we didn't listen to you.
15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made to yourself a name, as [at] this day; we have sinned, we have transgressed.
You, our Lord God, by your great power brought us out of Egypt, making a name for yourself that lasts even until now. But we have sinned, we have done wicked things.
16 O Lord, your mercy is over all: let, I pray you, your wrath turn away, and your anger from your city Jerusalem, [even] your holy mountain: for we have sinned, and because of our iniquities, and those of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people are become a reproach amongst all that are round about us.
So Lord, because you are so good, please turn away from your anger and fury against Jerusalem, your holy mountain. Because of our sins and those of our forefathers, Jerusalem and your people are mocked by all our neighbors.
17 And now, O lord our God, listen to the prayer of your servant, and his supplications, and cause your face to shine on your desolate sanctuary, for your [own] sake, O Lord.
Now, our Lord, please listen to the prayer and pleading of your servant, and for your own sake look kindly on your abandoned sanctuary.
18 Incline your ear, O my God, and hear; open your eyes and behold our desolation, and that of your city on which your name is called: for we do not bring our pitiful case before you on [the ground of] our righteousness, but on [the ground of] your manifold compassions, O Lord.
Please listen carefully and open your eyes and see the terrible state we are in, and the city that bears your name. We're not making these requests to you for this because of our goodness, but because of your great mercy.
19 Listen, O Lord; be propitious, O Lord; attend, O Lord; delay not, O my God, for your own sake: for your name is called upon your city and upon your people.
Lord, please listen! Lord, please forgive! Please pay attention and do something! For your own sake, my God, don't delay, for your city and your people are identified by your name.”
20 And while I was yet speaking, and praying, and confessing my sins and the sins of my people Israel, and bringing my pitiful case before the Lord my God concerning the holy mountain;
I continued speaking, praying and confessing my sins and those of my people Israel, pleading before the Lord my God on behalf of Jerusalem, his holy mountain.
21 yes, while I was yet speaking in prayer, behold the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, [came] flying, and he touched me about the hour of the evening sacrifice.
While I was still praying, Gabriel, whom I'd seen previously when I'd had the vision, came flying rapidly towards me at the time of the evening sacrifice.
22 And he instructed me, and spoke with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to impart to you understanding.
He gave me the following explanation, saying, “Daniel, I've come to give you insight and understanding.
23 At the beginning of your supplication the word came forth, and I am come to tell you; for you are a man much beloved: therefore consider the matter, understand the vision.
As soon as you started praying, the answer was given, and I have come to explain it to you because God loves you very much. So please listen to the explanation and understand the meaning of the vision.
24 Seventy weeks have been determined upon your people, and upon the holy city, for sin to be ended, and to seal up transgressions, and to blot out the iniquities, and to make atonement for iniquities, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal the vision and the prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy.
Seventy weeks has been allotted to your people and your holy city to deal with the rebellion, to put an end to sin, to forgive wrongdoing, to bring in everlasting goodness, to confirm the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
25 And you shall know and understand, that from the going forth of the command for the answer and for the building of Jerusalem until Christ the prince [there shall be] seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks; and then [the time] shall return, and the street shall be built, and the wall, and the times shall be exhausted.
You need to know and understand that from the time the command is given to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until the Messiah, seven weeks plus sixty-two weeks will elapse. It will be built with streets and defenses, in spite of the difficult times.
26 And after the sixty-two weeks, the anointed one shall be destroyed, and there is no judgement in him: and he shall destroy the city and the sanctuary with the prince that is coming: they shall be cut off with a flood, and to the end of the war which is rapidly completed he shall appoint [the city] to desolations.
After sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be put to death, and will be brought to nothing. A ruler will come to power whose army will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will come like a flood. War and devastation will continue until that period of time is completed.
27 And one week shall establish the covenant with many: and in the midst of the week my sacrifice and drink-offering shall be taken away: and on the temple [shall be] the abomination of desolations; and at the end of time an end shall be put to the desolation.
He will confirm the agreement with many people for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifices and offerings. The idolatry that causes devastation will be supported until the end when the same fate is poured out on the one who devastates.”
