Daniel 9

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

2in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the books the number of years that, according to the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet, must be completed for the desolation of Jerusalem: seventy years.

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

4I prayed to Yahweh my God and made confession: “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. We have acted wickedly and rebelled, turning away from your commandments and your ordinances.

6We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.

7Righteousness belongs to you, Lord, but shame covers our faces, as it does this day—the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those near and those far away, in all the lands where you have driven them because of the unfaithfulness they have committed against you.

8Yahweh, shame covers our faces—our kings, our princes, and our ancestors—because we have sinned against you.

9Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God, though we have rebelled against him.

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

11All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey your voice. So the curse and the oath written in the law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against him.

12He has carried out the words he spoke against us and against our rulers who governed us, by bringing on us a great disaster; under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.

13Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us. Yet we have not sought the favor of Yahweh our God by turning from our iniquities and gaining insight from your truth.

14So Yahweh kept the disaster ready and brought it on us, for Yahweh our God is righteous in all the works he does, and we have not obeyed his voice.

15Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and made a name for yourself, as it is to this day—we have sinned; we have acted wickedly.

16Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, please let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. Because of our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people have become an object of scorn to all who are around us.

17Now, our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for the Lord’s sake make your face shine on your desolate sanctuary.

18Incline your ear, my God, and hear; open your eyes and see our desolations and the city that is called by your name. We do not present our pleas before you because of our righteous acts, but because of your great compassion.

19Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and act! Do not delay, for your own sake, my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

20While I was still speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before Yahweh my God for the holy mountain of my God—

21while 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 about the time of the evening offering.

22He instructed me and spoke with me. He said, “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. So consider the word and understand the vision:

24Seventy sevens have been determined for your people and your holy city: to bring transgression to a close, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in righteousness that lasts forever, to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.

25Know and understand this: from the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an anointed one, a prince, there will be seven sevens. Then for sixty-two sevens it will be built again, with square and moat, but in times of distress.

26After the sixty-two sevens, an anointed one will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the coming prince will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will come in a flood, and war will continue to the end; desolations are decreed.

27He will make a firm covenant with the many for one seven, and for half of the seven he will bring sacrifice and offering to a stop. On the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, until the full end that has been decreed is poured out on the desolator.”