Top of Page
Page Style
the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus, a Mede by birth, who was made ruler over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— 2 In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the books according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, that the number of years would be fulfilled for the desolation of Jerusalem, that is, seventy years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God to seek an answer from Him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.
4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:
“O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of steadfast love with those who love Him and obey His commands, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and have rebelled, turning aside from Your commands and ordinances. 6 We have not 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 this day we are covered with shame: the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel—those who are near and those who are far off, in all the countries where You have scattered them because of the unfaithfulness they had shown toward You. 8 O Lord, we are all covered with shame, along with our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. 10 We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by following His laws that He set before us by His servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed Your law and turned away, refusing to obey You.
“Therefore the curses and the sworn judgments written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. 12 He has fulfilled His words that He spoke against us and against our rulers by bringing great disaster on us. Under all of heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favour of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquities and focussing on Your truth. 14 So the Lord kept this disaster in reserve until He brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all that He does; yet we have not obeyed Him.
15 “Now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for Yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have acted wickedly. 16 O Lord, in keeping with Your righteous acts, let Your anger and wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and Your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
17 “Therefore, O our God, hear the prayer and petitions of Your servant. For your own sake, O Lord, let Your face shine upon Your desolate sanctuary. 18 Incline Your ear, O God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your Name. We do not present our petitions before You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy. 19 O lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your Name.”
20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my petition before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God— 21 while I was still praying, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, come to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He came to me and said, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. 23 At the beginning of your petitions an answer went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision:
24 “Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.
25 “Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince with be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in troublesome times, 26 After those sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the coming prince will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will make a firm covenant with many for one week, and in the middle of the week He will bring an end to sacrifice and offering. For the overspreading of abominations, desolation has been decreed to be poured out on the desolate.”