Daniel 9

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;

1It was the first year that Darius was king. He was the son of Ahasuerus, and he came from the Medes. He was made king over the land of the Chaldeans, which is Babylon.

2In 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.

2In that first year, I, Daniel, was reading the holy books. I learned what the LORD had told the prophet Jeremiah. A prophet is someone who told people what God said. Jerusalem would lie empty and broken for seventy years.

3And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

3So I turned to the Lord God to look for him. I prayed and begged for help. I went without food, wore rough cloth, and sat in ashes.

NoteRough cloth and ashes were how people showed they were very sad or sorry.

4And 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;

4I prayed to the LORD my God and told him the wrong we had done. I said, "Lord, you are great, and people stand in awe of you. You keep your promise. You show love to people who love you and obey you."

5We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

5"We have sinned and done wrong. We acted badly, and we would not obey. We turned away from your rules and your teachings."

6Neither 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.

6"We did not listen to the prophets who served you. They spoke your words to our kings, our leaders, our fathers, and all the people of the land."

7O 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.

7"Lord, you always do what is right. But today we are covered with shame. That is true of the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. It is true of all Israel, both near and far away. It is true in every land where you sent us. This happened because we were not faithful to you."

8O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

8"Lord, we are covered with shame. So are our kings, our leaders, and our fathers. It is because we sinned against you."

9To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

9"But you, Lord our God, are kind, and you forgive. You are kind even though we would not obey you."

10Neither 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.

10"We did not listen to the voice of the LORD our God. We did not live by his laws. He gave those laws to us through the prophets who served him."

11Yea, 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.

11"All Israel broke your law and turned away. We refused to obey your voice. So the curse written in the law of Moses has poured down on us. Moses was God's servant, and God's warning came true. This happened because we sinned against God."

12And 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.

12"You did just what you said you would do to us and to our judges. You brought terrible trouble on us. Nothing like this has ever happened anywhere in the world. Nothing has been done like what was done to Jerusalem."

13As 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.

13"All this trouble came just as the law of Moses said it would. Even then, we did not ask the LORD our God for help. We did not turn away from our wrong. We did not pay attention to your truth."

14Therefore 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.

14"So the LORD kept this trouble ready and brought it on us. The LORD our God is right in everything he does. But we did not obey his voice."

15And 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.

15"Now, Lord our God, you brought your people out of Egypt with your strong hand. People have known your name ever since that day. We have sinned. We have done wrong."

16O 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.

16"Lord, you always do what is right. So please stop being angry with Jerusalem, your city and your holy hill. Our sins and our fathers' sins caused this. Now everyone around us makes fun of Jerusalem and your people."

17Now 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.

17"So now, our God, listen to the prayers of your servant. Your holy house lies empty and broken. Please be kind to it, Lord, for your own sake."

18O 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.

18"My God, turn your ear and listen. Open your eyes and see our ruined city. It is the city that carries your name. We are not asking because we are good. We are asking because you are so kind."

19O 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.

19"Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear us and act! Please do not wait, my God, for your own sake. Your city and your people carry your name."

20And 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;

20I kept on speaking and praying. I told God the wrong I had done and the wrong my people Israel had done. I begged the LORD my God to help his holy hill.

21Yea, 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.

21While I was still praying, Gabriel came to me. He is the man I had seen in my earlier vision. He came flying fast and touched me. It was the time of the evening offering.

NoteThe evening offering was a gift given to God at the temple late every afternoon.

22And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

22He taught me and talked with me. He said, "Daniel, I have come to help you know and understand."

23At 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.

23"As soon as you began to pray, God sent an answer. I have come to tell it to you, because God loves you very much. So listen closely and understand the vision."

24Seventy 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.

24"Seventy weeks are set aside for your people and your holy city. In that time, wrongdoing will be stopped and sin will be ended. Sin will be paid for. Right living that lasts forever will come. The vision and the words of the prophets will be sealed up. And the most holy place will be set apart with special oil."

NoteHere a "week" means a group of seven, not seven days. Verses 24 to 27 count in sevens.

25Know 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.

25"So know this and understand it. A command will be given to rebuild Jerusalem. From that time until the Messiah, the chosen leader, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. The city will be built again, with streets and a deep ditch. But it will be built in hard times."

26And 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.

26"After the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of a ruler who is coming will destroy the city and the holy house. The end will come like a rushing flood. War will go on, and ruin has been decided."

Note"Cut off" means killed or taken away.

27And 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.

27"He will make a firm agreement with many people for one week. In the middle of that week, he will stop the sacrifices and offerings. A hated thing will stand on the corner of the temple, and the place will be left empty. This will last until the end that God has decided is poured out on him."