Daniel 9:3-21

9:3 So I turned my attention ¹  to the Lord God ²  to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ³  9:4 I prayed to the LORD my God, confessing in this way:

“O Lord, ⁴  great and awesome God who is faithful to his covenant ⁵  with those who love him and keep his commandments, 9:5 we have sinned! We have done what is wrong and wicked; we have rebelled by turning away from your commandments and standards. 9:6 We have not paid attention to your servants the prophets, who spoke by your authority ⁶  to our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors, ⁷  and to all the inhabitants ⁸  of the land as well.

9:7 “You are righteous, ⁹  O Lord, but we are humiliated this day ¹⁰  – the people ¹¹  of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far away in all the countries in which you have scattered them, because they have behaved unfaithfully toward you. 9:8 O LORD, we have been humiliated ¹²  – our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors – because we have sinned against you. 9:9 Yet the Lord our God is compassionate and forgiving, ¹³  even though we have rebelled against him. 9:10 We have not obeyed ¹⁴  the LORD our God by living according to ¹⁵  his laws ¹⁶  that he set before us through his servants the prophets.

9:11 “All Israel has broken ¹⁷  your law and turned away by not obeying you. ¹⁸  Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened ¹⁹  in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you. ²⁰  9:12 He has carried out his threats ²¹  against us and our rulers ²²  who were over ²³  us by bringing great calamity on us – what has happened to Jerusalem has never been equaled under all heaven! 9:13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, so all this calamity has come on us. Still we have not tried to pacify ²⁴  the LORD our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom ²⁵  from your reliable moral standards. ²⁶  9:14 The LORD was mindful of the calamity, and he brought it on us. For the LORD our God is just ²⁷  in all he has done, ²⁸  and we have not obeyed him. ²⁹ 

9:15 “Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with great power ³⁰  and made a name for yourself that is remembered to this day – we have sinned and behaved wickedly. 9:16 O Lord, according to all your justice, ³¹  please turn your raging anger ³²  away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. For due to our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people are mocked by all our neighbors.

9:17 “So now, our God, accept ³³  the prayer and requests of your servant, and show favor to ³⁴  your devastated sanctuary for your own sake. ³⁵  9:18 Listen attentively, ³⁶  my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins ³⁷  and the city called by your name. ³⁸  For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you, ³⁹  but because your compassion is abundant. 9:19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, pay attention, and act! Don’t delay, for your own sake, O my God! For your city and your people are called by your name.” ⁴⁰ 

Gabriel Gives to Daniel a Prophecy of Seventy Weeks

9:20 While I was still speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my request before the LORD my God concerning his holy mountain ⁴¹  – 9:21 yes, while I was still praying, ⁴²  the man Gabriel, whom I had seen previously ⁴³  in a vision, was approaching me in my state of extreme weariness, ⁴⁴  around the time of the evening offering.

[9:3]  ¹ tn Heb “face.”

[9:3]  ² tn The Hebrew phrase translated “Lord God” here is אֲדֹנָי הָאֱלֹהִים (’adonay ha’elohim).

[9:3]  ³ sn When lamenting, ancient Israelites would fast, wear sackcloth, and put ashes on their heads to show their sorrow and contrition.

[9:4]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 7, 9, 15, 16, and 19 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[9:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “who keeps the covenant and the loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[9:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “in your name.” Another option is to translate, “as your representatives.”

[9:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “our fathers” (also in vv. 8, 16). The Hebrew term translated “father” can refer to more distant relationships such as grandfathers or ancestors.

[9:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “people.”

[9:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “to you (belongs) righteousness.”

[9:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and to us (belongs) shame of face like this day.”

[9:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “men.”

[9:8]  ¹² tn Heb “to us (belongs) shame of face.”

[9:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “to the Lord our God (belong) compassion and forgiveness.”

[9:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “paid attention to the voice of,” which is an idiomatic expression for obedience (cf. NASB “nor have we obeyed the voice of”).

[9:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to walk in.”

[9:10]  ¹⁶ tc The LXX and Vulgate have the singular.

[9:11]  ¹⁷ tn Or “transgressed.” The Hebrew verb has the primary sense of crossing a boundary, in this case, God’s law.

[9:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “by not paying attention to your voice.”

[9:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the curse and the oath which is written.” The term “curse” refers here to the judgments threatened in the Mosaic law (see Deut 28) for rebellion. The expression “the curse and the oath” is probably a hendiadys (cf. Num 5:21; Neh 10:29) referring to the fact that the covenant with its threatened judgments was ratified by solemn oath and made legally binding upon the covenant community.

[9:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “him.”

[9:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “he has fulfilled his word(s) which he spoke.”

[9:12]  ²² tn Heb “our judges.”

[9:12]  ²³ tn Heb “who judged.”

[9:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “we have not pacified the face of.”

[9:13]  ²⁵ tn Or “by gaining insight.”

[9:13]  ²⁶ tn Heb “by your truth.” The Hebrew term does not refer here to abstract truth, however, but to the reliable moral guidance found in the covenant law. See vv 10-11.

[9:14]  ²⁷ tn Or “righteous.”

[9:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “in all his deeds which he has done.”

[9:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “we have not listened to his voice.”

[9:15]  ³⁰ tn Heb “with a powerful hand.”

[9:16]  ³¹ tn Or “righteousness.”

[9:16]  ³² tn Heb “your anger and your rage.” The synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of God’s anger. This is best expressed in English by making one of the terms adjectival (cf. NLT “your furious anger”; CEV “terribly angry”).

[9:17]  ³³ tn Heb “hear.” Here the verb refers to hearing favorably, accepting the prayer and responding positively.

[9:17]  ³⁴ tn Heb “let your face shine.” This idiom pictures God smiling in favor. See Pss 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19.

[9:17]  ³⁵ tn Heb “for the sake of my Lord.” Theodotion has “for your sake.” Cf. v. 19.

[9:18]  ³⁶ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[9:18]  ³⁷ tn Heb “desolations.” The term refers here to the ruined condition of Judah’s towns.

[9:18]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Heb “praying our supplications before you.”

[9:19]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “for your name is called over your city and your people.” See the note on this expression in v 18.

[9:20]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the holy mountain of my God.”

[9:21]  ⁴² tn Heb “speaking in prayer.”

[9:21]  ⁴³ tn Heb “in the beginning.”

[9:21]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew expression בִּיעָף מֻעָף (mu’af bi’af) is very difficult. The issue is whether the verb derives from עוּף (’uf, “to fly”) or from יָעַף (ya’af, “to be weary”). Many ancient versions and modern commentators take the first of these possibilities and understand the reference to be to the swift flight of the angel Gabriel in his coming to Daniel. The words more likely refer to the extreme weariness, not of the angel, but of Daniel. Cf. 7:28; 8:27; 10:8-9, 16-17; also NASB.