Dan 9 | ESV | STEP | In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus , by descent a Mede , who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans

1 ^aIn the first year of ^bDarius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a ^cMede, who was made king over the realm of the ^dChaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to ^ethe word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by ^fprayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and ^gmade confession, saying, ^h“O Lord, the ⁱgreat and awesome God, who ^jkeeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 ^kwe have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly ^land rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6 ^mWe have not listened to ⁿyour servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to ^oour kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 To you, ^pO 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, ^qthose who are near and ^rthose who are far away, in ^sall the lands to which you have driven them, because of ^tthe treachery that they have committed against you. 8 To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because ^uwe have sinned against you. 9 ^vTo the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him 10 ^wand have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by ^xhis servants the prophets. 11 ^yAll Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, ^zrefusing to obey your voice. ^aaAnd the curse and oath ^abthat are written in the Law of ^acMoses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because ^adwe have sinned against him. 12 He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against ^aeour rulers who ruled us, ^{▼▼Or our judges who judged us} by ^agbringing upon us a great calamity. ^ahFor under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. 13 ^aiAs 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, ^ajturning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. 14 ^akTherefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, ^alfor the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and ^amwe have not obeyed his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt ^anwith a mighty hand, and ^aohave made a name for yourself, as at this day, ^apwe have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 “O Lord, ^aqaccording to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, ^aryour holy hill, ^asbecause for our sins, and for ^atthe iniquities of our fathers, ^auJerusalem and your people have become ^ava byword among all who are around us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, ^{▼▼Hebrew for the Lord’s sake} ^axmake your face to shine upon ^ayyour sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 ^azO my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see ^baour desolations, and ^bbthe 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. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. ^bcDelay not, ^bdfor your own sake, O my God, because ^beyour city and ^bfyour people are called by your name.”

Gabriel Brings an Answer

20 ^bgWhile 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 ^bhthe holy hill of my God, 21 while I was speaking in prayer, the man ^biGabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, ^bjcame to me in swift flight at ^bkthe time of the evening sacrifice. 22 ^blHe made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you ^bminsight and understanding. 23 ^bnAt the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, ^boand I have come to tell it to you, for ^bpyou are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word ^bqand understand the vision.

The Seventy Weeks

24 ^br“Seventy weeks ^{▼▼Or sevens; also twice in verse 25 and once in verse 26} are decreed about your people and ^btyour holy city, to finish ^buthe transgression, to put an end to sin, ^bvand to atone for iniquity, ^bwto bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and ^bxto anoint a most holy place. ^{▼▼Or thing, or one} 25 ^bzKnow therefore and understand that ^cafrom the going out of the word to restore and ^cbbuild Jerusalem to the coming of an ^ccanointed one, a ^cdprince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again ^{▼▼Or there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It shall be built again} with squares and moat, ^cfbut in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall ^cgbe cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come ^chshall destroy the city and the sanctuary. ^ciIts ^{▼▼Or His} end shall come with a flood, ^ckand to the end there shall be war. ^clDesolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, ^{▼▼Or seven; twice in this verse} and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. ^cnAnd on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until ^cothe decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”