Daniel’s Prayer for His People 1In the first yere of Darius the sonne of Ahasuerus, which was of the seede of the Medes, & was made king ouer the realme of the Chaldees, 2Euen in the first yere of his raigne, I Daniel vnderstoode by bookes the number of the yeres, wherof the Lorde spake vnto Ieremie the prophete, that he woulde accomplishe seuentie yeres in the desolation of Hierusalem. 3And I turned my face vnto the Lord God, and sought by prayer and supplication, with fasting, sackcloth, and asshes. 4I prayed vnto the Lorde my God, & made my confession, saying. O Lorde God, great and feare full, which kepeth couenaunt and mercie with them that loue him and kepe his commaundementes: 5We haue sinned and haue committed iniquitie, and haue done wickedly, yea we haue rebelled, & haue departed from thy preceptes, & from thy iudgementes. 6We woulde not obey thy seruauntes the prophetes, that spake in thy name to our kinges and princes, to our forefathers, and to all the people of the lande. 7O Lorde, righteousnesse belongeth vnto thee, vnto vs open shame, as is came to passe this day vnto euery man of Iuda, and to them that dwel at Hierusalem yea vnto all Israel, whether they be farre or nye throughout all the landes whither thou hast driuen them, because of their offences that they haue done against thee. 8Yea O Lorde, vnto vs, to our kinges & princes, to our forefathers that haue offended thee, belongeth open shame. 9Unto the Lorde our God pertayneth compassion and forgeuenesse, though we haue rebelled against him. 10And we haue not obeyed the voyce of the Lorde our God, to walke in his lawes which he layde before vs, by the hande of his seruauntes the prophetes. 11Yea all Israel haue transgressed and gone backe from thy lawe, so that they haue not hearkened vnto thy voyce: wherefore the curse and oth that is written in the lawe of Moyses the seruaunt of God, against whom we haue offended, is poured vpon vs. 12And he hath confirmed his wordes, which he spake against vs and against our iudges that iudged vs, to bring vpon vs such a great plague as neuer was vnder heauen, lyke as it is now come to passe in Hierusalem. 13Yea, all this plague as it is written in the lawe of Moyses, is come vpon vs: yet made we not our prayers before the Lorde our God, that we might turne againe from our wickednes, and vnderstand thy trueth. 14Therfore hath the Lord watched vpon the plague, and brought it vpon vs: for the Lorde our God is righteous in all his workes which he doth: for we would not hearken vnto his voyce. 15And now O Lord our God, thou that with a mightie hande hast brought thy people out of the lande of Egypt to get thy selfe a name, which remayneth this day, we haue sinned, we haue done wickedly. 16O Lorde, according to all thy righteousnes, I beseche thee let thyne anger and thy wrath be turned away from thy citie of Hierusalem, thy holy hill: for because of our sinnes, and for the wickednesse of our fathers, Hierusalem and thy people are a reproche to all them that are about vs. 17Now therefore O our God heare the prayer of thy seruaunt, and his intercession: O let thy face thine ouer thy sanctuarie that lyeth waste, for the Lordes sake. 18O my God, encline thyne eare & hearken, open thyne eyes, beholde howe we be desolated, yea and the citie also which is called after thy name: for we do not present our prayers before thee in our owne righteousnes, but in thy great mercies. 19O Lorde heare, O forgeue Lorde, O Lorde consider and do it, defer not, for thyne owne sake O my God: because thy name is called vpon thy citie, & vpon thy people. Gabriel’s Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks 20As I was yet a speaking at my prayers, knowledging myne owne sinnes & the sinnes of my people Israel, presenting so myne intercession before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God: 21Yea, while I was yet speaking in my prayer, the man Gabriel (whom I had seene afore in the vision) came fleeing, & touched me about the time of the euening oblation: 22And he enfourmed me, & talked with me, and saide: O Daniel, I am nowe come foorth to geue thee knowledge & vnderstanding. 23At the beginning of thy supplications, the commaundement came foorth, and I am come to shewe thee, for thou art greatly beloued: therefore vnderstande the matter and consider the vision.
24Seuetie weekes are determined ouer thy people, & ouer thy holy citie, to finish the wickednes, and to seale vp ye sinnes, and to reconcile the iniquitie, & to bring in euerlasting righteousnes, to seale vp the vision and prophecie, & to annoynt the most holy.
25Knowe therfore and vnderstand, that from the going foorth of the commaudement, to bring againe the |
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