Daniel 9
1 ¶In the first year of Darius the son of
Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm
of the Chaldeans;
2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood
by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to
Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the
desolations of Jerusalem.
3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by
prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
4 ¶And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my
confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the
covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his
commandments;
5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and
have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy
precepts and from thy judgments:
6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the
prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our
fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto
us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that
are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them,
because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our
kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned
against thee.
9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and
forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our
God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the
prophets.
11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by
departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is
poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the
servant of God, because we have sinned against him.
12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake
against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us
a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath
been done upon Jerusalem.
13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil
is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God,
that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.
14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and
brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works
which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy
people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast
gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done
wickedly.
16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I
beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city
Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the
iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a
reproach to all that are about us.
17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy
servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy
sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.
18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine
eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy
name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our
righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.
19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and
do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy
people are called by thy name.
20 ¶And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and
confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my
supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;
21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man
Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused
to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O
Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
23 At the beginning of thy supplications the
commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art
greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the
vision.
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and
upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of
sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and
to anoint the most Holy.
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going
forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the
Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks:
the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be
cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall
come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof
shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are
determined.
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one
week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the
oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall
make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined
shall be poured upon the desolate.