Daniel’s Prayer for His People

1In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus,† of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—† 2in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of the years that, according to the word of YHWH, must be to Jeremiah the prophet to bring fulfillment to the desolations of Jerusalem: Seventy years.† 3And I set my face toward the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.

4And I prayed to YHWH my God, and I made confession and said: “O Lord God, the great and fearsome One, the One keeping the covenant and the loving devotion† to those loving Him and those keeping His commandments. 5We have sinned and we have done wrong, and we have been wicked and we have rebelled and turned aside from Your precepts and Your ordinances. 6And we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, those who spoke in Your name to our kings, and our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7Unto You, O Lord, is the righteousness, and unto us is shame of face, as on this day, to the men of Judah, and to those dwelling in Jerusalem, and to all of Israel—those near, and those far off—in all the lands to which You have driven them there because of their unfaithfulness with which they were unfaithful to You! 8O YHWH, unto us is shame of face—to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers—because we have sinned against You.

9Unto the Lord our God are compassion and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him, 10and we did not listen to the voice of YHWH our God, to walk in His laws that He gave before our faces by the hand of His servants the prophets.

11And all Israel has transgressed Your law, turning aside not to listen to Your voice. And has been poured out on us the oath and the curse that is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him. 12And He has made stand His word, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us great calamity—which has not been done under all the heavens, like what has been done to Jerusalem.

13As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us, we have pleaded and not before the face of YHWH our God, to turn back from our iniquity, and to gain discernment of Your truth. 14And YHWH has kept watch over the calamity, and has brought it upon us, for righteous is YHWH our God in all His deeds that He does, and we have not listened to His voice.

15And now, O Lord our God, who brought out Your people from the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made for Yourself a name as on this day, we have sinned; we have acted wickedly. 16O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, let be turned back, please, Your anger and Your fury from Your city Jerusalem, the mountain of Your holiness! For because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all around us.

17And now, listen, our God, to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and cause to shine Your face on Your sanctuary that is desolate—for the sake of the Lord! 18Incline, O my God, Your ear, and hear; open Your eyes, and see our desolations and the city upon which Your name is called. For it is not because of our righteous acts that we are letting fall our supplications before Your face, but because of Your many mercies.

19O Lord, may You hear! O Lord, may You forgive! O Lord, may You be attentive and act! Do not delay, for Your sake, O my God, for Your name is called upon Your city and upon Your people!”

Gabriel’s Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks

20And still I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and letting fall my supplication before YHWH my God over the holiness of the mountain of my God— 21and still I was speaking in prayer, when the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, was flying swiftly, reaching to me at the time of the sacrifice of the evening. 22And he gave understanding and spoke with me, and he said, “O Daniel, now I have come forth to give you insight for understanding. 23At the beginning of your supplications, the command went forth, and I have come to declare it, for you are precious. And understand the word and understand the vision.

24Seventy sevens† are determined for your people and for the city of your holiness, to finish the transgression, and to seal off sin, and to make atonement for iniquity, and to bring in righteousness everlasting, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Holy of Holies.†

25And know and understand that from the going forth of the command to return and to rebuild Jerusalem, until the Messiah,† the Prince, are seven sevens; and for sixty-two sevens it will return, and the street and the trench will be built in the distress of the times!

26And after the sixty-two sevens,† the Messiah will be cut off, and not for Him.

And the people of the leader who is coming will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end is in a flood, and until the end, war and desolations are determined. 27And he will make strong a covenant with the many for one seven;† and in the middle of the seven the sacrifice and offering he will make cease, and on a wing of abominations he shall make it desolate,† until the consummation that is decreed is poured out on the one bringing desolation.

Footnotes:

1 Or Xerxes
1 That is, the Babylonians
2 See Jeremiah 25:11–12 and Jeremiah 29:10.
4 Forms of the Hebrew chesed are translated here and in most cases throughout the Scriptures as loving devotion; the range of meaning includes love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and mercy, as well as loyalty to a covenant.
24 Or Seventy weeks; also twice in verse 25 and once in verse 26
24 Or the Most Holy Place or the Most Holy One
25 Or the Anointed One; also in verse 26
26 Or Then after sixty-two weeks
27 Or for one week; similarly again in this verse
27 Or And on the wing (will come) the abomination that causes desolation