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Daniel's Prayer for His People

¹ In the first year of ^(C1)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 ^(C1)Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, ^(C1)seventy years.³ So I ^(F1)gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.⁴ I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the ^(C1)great and awesome God, who ^(C2)keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,^5 (C1)we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and ^(C2)rebelled, even ^(C3)turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.⁶ "Moreover, we have not ^(C1)listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.

⁷ "^(C1)Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us ^(F1)(C2)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 ^(C3)all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You.⁸ "^(F1)Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.⁹ "To the Lord our God belong ^(C1)compassion and forgiveness, ^(F1)for we have ^(C2)rebelled against Him;¹⁰ nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His ^(F1)teachings which He ^(C1)set before us through His servants the prophets.¹¹ "Indeed ^(C1)all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the ^(C2)curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him.¹² "Thus He has ^(C1)confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our ^(F1)(C2)rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has ^(C3)not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem.¹³ "As it is written in the ^(C1)law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have ^(C2)not ^(F1)sought the favor of the LORD our God by ^(C3)turning from our iniquity and ^(F2)giving attention to Your truth.¹⁴ "Therefore the LORD has ^(F1)(C1)kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the LORD our God is ^(C2)righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.

¹⁵ "And now, O Lord our God, who have ^(C1)brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have ^(C2)made a name for Yourself, as it is this day--we have sinned, we have been wicked.¹⁶ "O Lord, in accordance with all Your ^(F1)righteous acts, let now Your ^(C1)anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your ^(C2)holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a ^(C3)reproach to all those around us.¹⁷ "So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for ^(F1)Your sake, O Lord, ^(C1)let Your face shine on Your ^(C2)desolate sanctuary.¹⁸ "O my God, ^(C1)incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and ^(C2)see our desolations and the city which is ^(C3)called by Your name; for we are not ^(F1)(C4)presenting our supplications before You on account of ^(F2)any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion.¹⁹ "O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, ^(C1)do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name."

Gabriel Brings an Answer

²⁰ Now while I was ^(C1)speaking and praying, and ^(C2)confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and ^(F1)presenting my supplication before the LORD my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God,²¹ while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man ^(C1)Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision ^(F1)previously, ^(F2)came to me ^(F3)in my extreme weariness about the time of the ^(C2)evening offering.²² He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with ^(C1)understanding.²³ "At the ^(C1)beginning of your supplications the ^(F1)command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are ^(F2)(C2)highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain ^(C3)understanding of the vision.

Seventy Weeks and the Messiah

²⁴ "Seventy ^(F1)(C1)weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to ^(F2)finish the transgression, to ^(F3)make an end of sin, to ^(C2)make atonement for iniquity, to bring in ^(C3)everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and ^(F4)prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.²⁵ "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a ^(F1)(C1)decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until ^(F2)(C2)Messiah the ^(C3)Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with ^(F3)plaza and moat, even in times of distress.²⁶ "Then after the sixty-two weeks the ^(F1)Messiah will be ^(C1)cut off and have ^(F2)nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will ^(C2)destroy the city and the sanctuary. And ^(F3)its end will come with a ^(C3)flood; even to the end ^(F4)there will be war; desolations are determined.²⁷ "And he will make a firm 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 ^(F1)(C1)abominations will come one who ^(F2)makes desolate, even until a ^(C2)complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who ^(F2)makes desolate."