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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 gave my ^(F1)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 ^(C1)great and awesome God, who ^(C2)keeps His covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,^5 (C1)we have sinned, we have done wrong, and ^(F1)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 leaders, our fathers, and all the people of the land.

⁷ "^(C1)Righteousness belongs to You, 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, LORD, to our kings, our leaders, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.⁹ "To the Lord our God belong ^(C1)compassion and forgiveness, ^(F1)because we have ^(C2)rebelled against Him;¹⁰ and we have not 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 violated Your Law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the ^(C2)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 ^(C1)confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our ^(F1)(C2)rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great disaster; for under the entire heaven there has ^(C3)not been done anything like what was done in Jerusalem.¹³ "Just as it is written in the ^(C1)Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us; yet we have ^(C2)not ^(F1)sought the favor of the LORD our God by ^(C3)turning from our wrongdoing and ^(F2)giving attention to Your truth.¹⁴ "So the LORD has ^(F1)(C1)kept the disaster 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, Lord, our God, You who ^(C1)brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and ^(C2)made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked.¹⁶ "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 wrongdoings of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become an ^(C3)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 ^(F1)Your sake, Lord, ^(C1)let Your face shine on Your ^(C2)desolate sanctuary.¹⁸ "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 pleas before You based on ^(F2)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, ^(C1)do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name."

Gabriel Brings an Answer

²⁰ While I was still ^(C1)speaking and praying, and ^(C2)confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and ^(F1)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 ^(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 And he instructed me and talked with me and said, "Daniel, I have come now to give you insight with ^(C1)understanding.²³ "At the ^(C1)beginning of your pleas the ^(F1)command was issued, and I have come to tell you, because you are ^(F2)(C2)highly esteemed; so pay attention 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 wrongdoing, to ^(F3)make an end of sin, to ^(C2)make atonement for guilt, 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 understand 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)streets 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 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 ^(F1)(C1)abominations will come the one who ^(F2)makes desolate, until a ^(C2)complete destruction, one that is ^(F3)decreed, gushes forth on the one who ^(F2)makes desolate."