Daniel 9

9 ¹ In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— ² in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the books that seventy years would pass before Jerusalem's desolations ended—just as our Father had spoken to Jeremiah the prophet. ³ So I turned my face to the Sovereign Father, seeking him in prayer and pleas for mercy, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

⁴ I prayed to my Father and made confession, saying: "O Sovereign Father, great and awesome, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and done wrong, we have acted wickedly and rebelled, turning away from your commandments and your judgments. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our ancestors, and all the people of the land.

⁷ Righteousness belongs to you, O Sovereign Father, but open shame is ours this day—to the people of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those near and those far away in all the lands to which you have driven them because of the treachery they committed against you. ⁸ O our Father, open shame belongs to us—to our kings, our princes, and our ancestors—because we have sinned against you. ⁹ To the Sovereign Father belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him, ¹⁰ and we have not obeyed the voice of our Father by walking in his laws, which he set before us through his servants the prophets. ¹¹ All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey your voice. So the curse and the sworn oath written in the Law of Moses, the servant of our Father, have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. ¹² He has carried out the words he spoke against us and against our rulers, bringing upon us a great calamity; for under all of heaven nothing like this has ever been done to Jerusalem. ¹³ As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not sought the favor of our Father by turning from our iniquities and giving attention to your truth. ¹⁴ So our Father kept the calamity ready and brought it upon us, for our Father is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed his voice.

¹⁵ And now, O Sovereign Father, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and made for yourself a name that endures to this day—we have sinned, we have acted wickedly. ¹⁶ O Sovereign Father, in keeping with all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people have become an object of scorn to all who surround us.

¹⁷ Now therefore, O our Father, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas, and for your own sake, O Sovereign Father, let your face shine upon your sanctuary that lies desolate. ¹⁸ Turn your ear toward us, my Father, and hear; open your eyes and see our desolations and the city that bears your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our own righteousness, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ O Sovereign Father, hear! O Sovereign Father, forgive! O Sovereign Father, pay attention and act! Do not delay, for your own sake, my Father, because your city and your people bear your name.

The Father Sends Gabriel with an Answer

²⁰ While I was still speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before my Father for the holy hill of my Father, ²¹ while I was still speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening offering. ¹ 1 v21 The evening offering was made around three in the afternoon.

²² He gave me understanding, speaking with me and saying, "Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. ²³ At the beginning of your pleas a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. So consider the word and understand the vision:

Seventy Weeks Decreed

²⁴ "Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. ² 2 v24 "Seventy weeks" renders a Hebrew phrase meaning seventy periods of seven—likely 490 years in total.

²⁵ Know therefore and understand: from the time the command goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Anointed One—Jesus, the Prince—there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a moat, but in troubled times. ²⁶ And after the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One—Jesus—will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will come like a flood, and to the end there will be war; desolations are decreed. ²⁷ He will confirm a covenant with many for one week, and in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator."