Daniel 9
1 It was the first year of Darius the Mede, son of Ahasuerus, after he had become king of the Babylonians.
In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the race of the Medes, who became king over the realm of the Chaldaeans,
2 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.
in the first year of his reign, I Daniel attentively considered in the Books the number of the years, concerning which the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem should remain in ruins till they were accomplished, namely, seventy years.
3 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.
And I set my face toward God, the Lord, and made prayers and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
4 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.
And I prayed to Jehovah, my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and terrible God, who keepeth the covenant and mercy to them that love him and keep his commandments!
5 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.
We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and thy statutes.
6 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.
Neither have we hearkened to thy servants, the prophets, who spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7 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.
To thee, O Lord, belongeth righteousness, but to us confusion of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, to those that are near and to those that are far off through all the countries whither thou hast driven them because of their trespass which they have trespassed against thee.
8 Public shame is ours Lord, and on our kings and princes and forefathers, because we have sinned against you.
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 Yet you, the Lord our God, are compassionate and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against you.
Yet with the Lord our God is mercy and forgiveness. For we have rebelled against him,
10 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.
and have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants, the prophets.
11 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.
Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, and turned away, so as not to obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured out upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.
12 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.
And he hath fulfilled his word which he spake against us, and against our judges who judged us, by bringing great calamity upon us; for under the whole heaven hath it not been done as hath been done to Jerusalem.
13 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.
As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil came upon us. For we made not our prayer to Jehovah our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and give heed to thy truth.
14 You were ready to punish us, and you were right to do everything you have done, for we didn't listen to you.
Therefore hath Jehovah our God kept his mind upon the evil, and brought it upon us; for Jehovah our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth; for we obeyed not his voice.
15 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.
And now, O Lord our God, that broughtest thy people forth from the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and madest thee a name such as it is at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16 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.
O Lord, according to all thy goodness, let thine anger and thy fury, I beseech thee, be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain! for because of our iniquities, and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
17 Now, our Lord, please listen to the prayer and pleading of your servant, and for your own sake look kindly on your abandoned sanctuary.
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 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.
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 on account of our righteousness, but on account of thy great mercy.
19 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.”
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 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.
And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Jehovah my God, for the holy mountain of my God,
21 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.
yea, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the former vision, came, weary with running, and reached me about the time of the evening oblation.
22 He gave me the following explanation, saying, “Daniel, I've come to give you insight and understanding.
And he instructed me, and talked with me, and said: Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee understanding.
23 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.
At the beginning of thy supplication a word went forth, and I am come to show it thee; for thou art greatly beloved; therefore give heed to the word, and consider the vision.
24 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.
Seventy weeks are appointed for thy people, and for thy holy city, to complete the iniquity, and to fill up the measure of the sins, and to expiate the guilt, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal vision and prophet, and to anoint a holy of holies.
25 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.
Know, therefore, and understand! From the going forth of the word that Jerusalem should be restored and built till an anointed one, a prince, are seven weeks; and during sixty-two weeks it shall be restored and built with streets and moats, yet in troublous times.
26 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.
And after the sixty-two weeks shall an anointed one be cut off, and there shall not be to him [[a successor]]; and the city and the sanctuary shall be destroyed by the people of a prince that shall come, whose end will be as in a flood; and to the end shall be war, decreed desolations.
27 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.”
And he will establish a covenant with many for one week, and during half a week he will cause sacrifice and oblation to cease, and upon the wing of abominations shall come the destroyer, until decreed destruction be poured out on the destroyer.
