Daniel 9:18

9:18 Listen attentively, ¹  my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins ²  and the city called by your name. ³  For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you, ⁴  but because your compassion is abundant.

Daniel 10:1

An Angel Appears to Daniel

10:1 ⁵ In the third ⁶  year of King Cyrus of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel (who was also called Belteshazzar). This message was true and concerned a great war. ⁷  He understood the message and gained insight by the vision.

[9:18]  ¹ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[9:18]  ² tn Heb “desolations.” The term refers here to the ruined condition of Judah’s towns.

[9:18]  ³ tn Heb “over which your name is called.” Cf. v. 19. This expression implies that God is the owner of his city, Jerusalem. Note the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1; Amos 9:12.

[9:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “praying our supplications before you.”

[10:1]  ⁵ sn This chapter begins the final unit in the book of Daniel, consisting of chapters 10-12. The traditional chapter divisions to some extent obscure the relationship of these chapters.

[10:1]  ⁶ tc The LXX has “first.”

[10:1]  ⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word צָבָא (tsava’) is uncertain in this context. The word most often refers to an army or warfare. It may also mean “hard service,” and many commentators take that to be the sense here (i.e., “the service was great”). The present translation assumes the reference to be to the spiritual conflicts described, for example, in 10:16–11:1.