Dan 9 | NASB2020 | STEP | In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus , of Median descent , who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans --

Daniel 9

Daniel’s Prayer for His People

1 In the first year of ^aDarius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans-- 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to ^bJeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, ^cseventy years. 3 So I gave my ^{▼▼Lit face}attention to the Lord God, to seek Him by prayer and pleading, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed, and said, “Oh, Lord, the ^egreat and awesome God, who ^fkeeps His covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5 ^gwe have sinned, we have done wrong, and ^{▼▼Or made ourselves guilty}acted wickedly and ⁱrebelled, even ^jturning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. 6 Moreover, we have not ^klistened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our leaders, our fathers, and all the people of the land.

7 “ ^lRighteousness belongs to You, Lord, but to us ^{▼▼Lit the shame of face
,} ⁿopen shame, as it is this day--to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in ^oall the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. 8 ^{▼▼Lit The shame of face}Open shame belongs to us, Lord, to our kings, our leaders, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 To the Lord our God belong ^qcompassion and forgiveness, ^{▼▼Or though}because we have ^srebelled against Him; 10 and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His ^{▼▼Or laws}teachings which He ^uset before us through His servants the prophets. 11 Indeed, ^vall Israel has violated Your Law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the ^wcurse has gushed forth on us, along with the oath which is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him. 12 So He has ^xconfirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our ^{▼▼Lit judges who judged us
,} ^zrulers who ruled us, to bring on us great disaster; for under the entire heaven there has ^aanot been done anything like what was done in Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the ^abLaw of Moses, all this disaster has come on us; yet we have ^acnot ^{▼▼Lit softened the face of}sought the favor of the Lord our God by ^aeturning from our wrongdoing and ^{▼▼Or having insight into}giving attention to Your truth. 14 So the Lord has ^{▼▼Lit watched over the evil
,} ^ahkept the disaster in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is ^airighteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.

15 “And now, Lord, our God, You who ^ajbrought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and ^akmade a name for Yourself, as it is this day--we have sinned, we have been wicked. 16 Lord, in accordance with all Your ^{▼▼Lit righteousnesses}righteous acts, let now Your ^amanger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your ^anholy mountain; for because of our sins and the wrongdoings of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become an ^aoobject of taunting to all those around us. 17 So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his pleas, and for ^{▼▼Lit the sake of the Lord}Your sake, Lord, ^aqlet Your face shine on Your ^ardesolate sanctuary. 18 My God, ^asincline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and ^atsee our desolations and the city which is ^aucalled by Your name; for we are not ^{▼▼Lit casting down
,} ^awpresenting our pleas before You based on ^{▼▼Lit our righteousnesses}any merits of our own, but based on Your great compassion. 19 Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, my God, ^aydo not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

Gabriel Brings an Answer

20 While I was still ^azspeaking and praying, and ^baconfessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and ^{▼▼Lit casting down}presenting my plea before the Lord my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, 21 while I was still speaking in prayer, the man ^bcGabriel, whom I had seen in the vision ^{▼▼Lit at the beginning}previously, ^{▼▼Lit was reaching; or touching}came to me ^{▼▼Or in swift flight}in my extreme weariness about the time of the ^bgevening offering. 22 And he instructed me and talked with me and said, “Daniel, I have come now to give you insight with ^bhunderstanding. 23 At the ^bibeginning of your pleas the ^{▼▼Lit word went out}command was issued, and I have come to tell you, because you are ^{▼▼Lit desirable; or precious
,} ^blhighly esteemed; so pay attention to the message and gain ^bmunderstanding of the vision.

Seventy Weeks and the Messiah

24 “Seventy ^{▼▼Or units of seven, and so throughout the ch
,} ^boweeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to ^{▼▼Or bring to an end}finish the wrongdoing, to ^{▼▼Another reading is seal up sins}make an end of sin, to ^brmake atonement for guilt, to bring in ^bseverlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and ^{▼▼Lit prophet}prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. 25 So you are to know and understand that from the issuing of a ^{▼▼Lit word
,} ^bvdecree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until ^{▼▼Or an anointed one
,} ^bxMessiah the ^byPrince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with ^{▼▼Or city square}streets and moat, even in times of distress. 26 Then after the sixty-two weeks, the ^{▼▼Or anointed one}Messiah will be ^cbcut off and have ^{▼▼Or no one}nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will ^cddestroy the city and the sanctuary. And ^{▼▼Or his}its end will come with a ^cfflood; even to the end ^{▼▼Or war will be decreed for desolations}there will be war; desolations are determined. 27 And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of ^{▼▼Or detestable things
,} ^ciabominations will come the one who ^{▼▼Or causes horror}makes desolate, until a ^ckcomplete destruction, one that is ^{▼▼Or determined}decreed, gushes forth on the one who ^{▼▼Or causes horror}makes desolate.”