Daniel 9
1 In the first year of Darius the son of Achashverosh, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king 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 In the first year of his reign, I Daniel searched in the books for understanding concerning the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would let pass full seventy years over the ruins 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 directed my face unto the Lord God, to ask by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and in sackcloth, and ashes.
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 unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and terrible God, who keepeth the covenant and kindness to those that love him, and to those that keep his commandments:
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 sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, and have departed from thy commandments and from thy ordinances;
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 Nor have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, who spoke in thy name to our kings, 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 Thine, O Lord, is the righteousness, but unto us belongeth the shame of face, as it is this day, —to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, those that are near, and those that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass which they have trespassed against thee.
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 O Lord, to us belongeth the shame of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers; because we have sinned against thee.
Public shame is ours Lord, and on our kings and princes and forefathers, because we have sinned against you.
9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and pardonings; for we have rebelled against him;
Yet you, the Lord our God, are compassionate and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against you.
10 And we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us through means 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 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, and have departed so as not to obey thy voice: therefore was poured out over us the curse, with the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God; because we had 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 hath accomplished his words, which he had spoken concerning us, and concerning our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil, which was never done under the whole heaven as it hath been done 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 this evil came over us: yet offered we not any entreaty before the Lord our God, to return from our iniquities, and to become intelligent in thy 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 Therefore did the Lord watch over the evil, and he brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous because of all his deeds which he hath done; but we have not obeyed 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 hast brought forth thy people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and hast made thyself a [great] name, as it is this day: we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
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, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thy anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain; because through our sins, and through the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all who 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 listen, O our God, to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary which is desolate, for the sake of the 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, O my God, thy ear, and hear; open thy eyes, and look on our desolations, and the city whereupon thy name is called: for not [relying] on our acts of righteousness do we present humbly our supplications before thee, but [relying] on thy great mercies.
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 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do it; delay it not; for thy own sake, O my God; for thy name is called upon thy city and upon thy 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 sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication humbly before the Lord my God because of the holy mountain of my God:
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 Yea, while I was yet speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, came, flying swiftly, near me about the time of the evening oblation.
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 gave me understanding, and spoke with me, and said, O Daniel, now am I come forth to make thee intelligent with understanding.
He gave me the following explanation, saying, “Daniel, I've come to give you insight and understanding.
23 At the beginning of thy supplications the word went forth, and I am come to tell it; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and have understanding of the appearance.
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 are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to close up the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to atone for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy thing.
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 Know therefore and comprehend, that from the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed the prince will be seven weeks: and during sixty and two weeks will it be again built with streets and ditches [around it], even in the pressure of the times.
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 and two weeks will an anointed one be cut off without a successor to follow him: and the city and the sanctuary will the people of the prince that is coming destroy; but his end will come in a violent overthrow; but until the end of the war devastations are decreed [against it].
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 he will make a strong covenant with the many for one week; and in the half of the week will he cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and this because of the prevalence of the abominations which bringeth devastation, and until destruction and what is decreed shall be poured out upon the waster.
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.”
