Daniel 9

¹In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus , by descent a Mede , who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans —

²in the first year of his reign , I , Daniel , perceived in the books the number of years that , according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet , must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem , namely, seventy years .

³Then I turned my face to the Lord God , seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes .

⁴I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession , saying , O Lord , the great and awesome God , who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments ,

⁵we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled , turning aside from your commandments and rules .

⁶We 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 .

⁷To you, O Lord , belongs righteousness , but to us open shame , as at this day , to the men of Judah , to the inhabitants of Jerusalem , and to all Israel , those who are near and those who are far away , in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you.

⁸To us, O Lord, belongs open shame , to our kings , to our princes , and to our fathers , because we have sinned against you.

⁹To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness , for we have rebelled against him

¹⁰and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws , which he set before us by his servants the prophets .

¹¹All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside , refusing to obey your voice . And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.

¹²He has confirmed his words , which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity . For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem .

¹³As it is written in the Law of Moses , all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God , turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth .

¹⁴Therefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done , and we have not obeyed his voice .

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

¹⁶O Lord , according to all your righteous acts , let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem , your holy hill , because for our sins , and for the iniquities of our fathers , Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us.

¹⁷Now therefore, O our God , listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy , and for your own sake , O Lord , make your face to shine upon your sanctuary , which is desolate .

¹⁸O my God , incline your ear and hear . Open your eyes and see our desolations , and the city that is called by your name . For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness , but because of your great mercy .

¹⁹O Lord , hear ; O Lord , forgive . O Lord , pay attention and act . Delay not , for your own sake , O my God , because your city and your people are called by your name .

²⁰While I was speaking and praying , confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel , and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God ,

²¹while I was speaking in prayer , the man Gabriel , whom I had seen in the vision at the first , came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice .

²²He made me understand , speaking with me and saying , O Daniel , I have now come out to give you insight and understanding .

²³At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out , and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved . Therefore consider the word and understand the vision .

²⁴Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city , to finish the transgression , to put an end to sin , and to atone for iniquity , to bring in everlasting righteousness , to seal both vision and prophet , and to anoint a most holy place .

²⁵Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one , a prince , there shall be seven weeks . Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat , but in a troubled time .

²⁶And after the sixty-two weeks , an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing . And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary . Its end shall come with a flood , and to the end there shall be war . Desolations are decreed .

²⁷And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week , and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering . And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate , until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator .