THE BOOK OF DANIEL

Daniel Chapter 9

1 ¶ In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, who was born a Mede, and was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood from the books, that there would be seventy years, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, before the desolation of Jerusalem would end.

3 So I turned my face to the Lord God, to seek him by prayer and pleading, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

4 ¶ And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made my confession, saying, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, who keeps the covenant showing mercy to those who love him, and keep his commandments;

5 We have sinned, and done wrong, and acted wickedly, and have rebelled, by departing from your commandments and from your judgments:

6 Nor have we listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7 O Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but we blush with shame today; we, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those near, and far away, throughout all the countries where you have driven them, because of their sin in that they have trespassed against you.

8 O Lord, public shame belongs to us, our kings, our leaders, and our fathers, because we have sinned against you.

9 But the Lord our God is merciful and forgives, though we have rebelled against him;

10 And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

11 Yes, all Israel has broken your law, by refusing to listen, that they might not obey your voice; therefore the curses you swore, which are written in the law of God’s servant Moses, are poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.

12 And he has done what he threatened to do against us, and against the rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great disaster: for nowhere in the world has anything been done like what was done to Jerusalem.

13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us: yet we have not sought the LORD our God in prayer, that we might turn from our wrongdoing, and understand your truth.

14 Therefore the LORD watched over the disaster, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in everything that he does: for we did not obey his voice.

15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and gained renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 O Lord, according to all your righteousness, I beg you, let your anger and your fury be turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain: for because of our sins, and the sins of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a reproach to all who are around us.

17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of your servant, and his plea, and cause your face to shine upon your sanctuary that lies in ruins, for the Lord’s sake.

18 O my God, incline your ear, and hear; open your eyes, and look upon our desolation, and the city that is called by your name: for we do not bring our prayers before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.

19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen and act; do not delay, for your own sake, O my God: for your city and your people who are called by your name.

20 ¶ And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and laying my request before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;

21 Yes, while I was speaking in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in my first vision, came to me flying swiftly, and touched me at about the time of the evening sacrifice.

22 And he instructed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding.

23 At the beginning of your prayers the word went forth, and I have come to inform you; for you are greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

24 Seventy weeks are decreed concerning your people and your holy city, to bring an end to rebellion, and a finish to sin, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the vision of the prophets, and to anoint the most Holy.

25 Know therefore and understand, that there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks from the time the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem goes forth to the Messiah the Prince: the streets and walls will be rebuilt, in a time of trouble.

26 But after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off, but not for himself: (and the ruling people who shall come will destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end of it will be as by a flood, until at end of the war it shall be cut off with desolation.)

27 In one week he will confirm the covenant with many: and during the week he will cause the sacrifices and the offerings to cease, and because of widespread abomination he will make it desolate, until the end that is determined is poured out on the desolate.