Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. New Living Translation So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes. English Standard Version Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. Berean Standard Bible So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. King James Bible And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: New King James Version Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. New American Standard Bible So I gave my attention to the Lord God, to seek Him by prayer and pleading, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. NASB 1995 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. NASB 1977 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Legacy Standard Bible So I gave my face to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Amplified Bible So I directed my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. Christian Standard Bible So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Holman Christian Standard Bible So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. American Standard Version And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. English Revised Version And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. GOD'S WORD® Translation So I turned to the Lord God and looked to him for help. I prayed, pleaded, and fasted in sackcloth and ashes. Good News Translation And I prayed earnestly to the Lord God, pleading with him, fasting, wearing sackcloth, and sitting in ashes. International Standard Version "So I turned my attention to the Lord God, seeking him in prayer and supplication, accompanied with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Majority Standard Bible So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. NET Bible So I turned my attention to the Lord God to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. New Heart English Bible And I turned to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and petitions, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. Webster's Bible Translation And I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: World English Bible I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and petitions, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. Literal Translations Literal Standard Versionand I set my face toward the Lord God, to seek [by] prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. Young's Literal Translation and I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. Smith's Literal Translation And I will give my face to Jehovah God to seek prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes: Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleAnd I set my face to the Lord my God, to pray and make supplication with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. Catholic Public Domain Version And I set my face to the Lord, my God, to ask and make supplication with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. New American Bible I turned to the Lord God, to seek help, in prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. New Revised Standard Version Then I turned to the Lord God, to seek an answer by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleAnd I lifted up my face before the LORD God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and with sackcloth and with ashes; Peshitta Holy Bible Translated I lifted my face before LORD JEHOVAH God to inquire in prayer, and in supplication and with fasting, and in sackcloth, and in ashes OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. Brenton Septuagint Translation And I set my face toward the Lord God, to seek him diligently by prayer and supplications, with fastings and sackcloth. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Daniel's Prayer for His People…2in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the sacred books, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4And I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, “O, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of loving devotion to those who love Him and keep His commandments,… Cross References Nehemiah 1:4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Ezra 8:23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He granted our request. Joel 2:12-13 “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.” / So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster. Jeremiah 29:12-13 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. / You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 2 Chronicles 20:3 Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah. Matthew 6:16-18 When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. / But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, / so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Jonah 3:5-9 And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least. / When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. / Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let no man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink. ... Isaiah 58:5-9 Is this the fast I have chosen: a day for a man to deny himself, to bow his head like a reed, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the LORD? / Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke? / Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? ... Acts 13:2-3 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” / And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off. Psalm 35:13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered. 1 Kings 8:47-50 and when they come to their senses in the land to which they were taken, and they repent and plead with You in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong; we have acted wickedly,’ / and when they return to You with all their heart and soul in the land of the enemies who took them captive, and when they pray to You in the direction of the land that You gave to their fathers, the city You have chosen, and the house I have built for Your Name, / then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, their prayer and petition, and may You uphold their cause. ... Luke 2:37 and then was a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Esther 4:16 “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!” Acts 10:30-31 Cornelius answered: “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this, the ninth hour. Suddenly a man in radiant clothing stood before me / and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been remembered before God. 1 Samuel 7:6 When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah. Treasury of Scripture And I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: I set. Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. Nehemiah 1:4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, Psalm 102:13-17 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come… with. Daniel 10:2,3 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks… Ezra 8:21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. Ezra 9:5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God, Jump to Previous Ashes Attention Dust Face Fasting Food Grace Haircloth Petition Petitions Pleaded Prayer Requesting Sackcloth Seek Seeking Supplications Turned TurningJump to Next Ashes Attention Dust Face Fasting Food Grace Haircloth Petition Petitions Pleaded Prayer Requesting Sackcloth Seek Seeking Supplications Turned TurningDaniel 9 1. Daniel, considering the time of the captivity,3. makes confession of sins, 16. and prays for the restoration of Jerusalem. 20. Gabriel informs him of the seventy weeks. So I turned my attention The phrase "turned my attention" signifies a deliberate and conscious decision by Daniel to focus entirely on God. The Hebrew root here is "natan panim," which means to give one's face or presence. This indicates a purposeful act of devotion and a shift from the distractions of the world to the divine presence. In a historical context, this reflects the Jewish practice of seeking God with intentionality, often in times of distress or need for guidance. to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition with fasting sackcloth and ashes Persons / Places / Events 1. DanielA prophet and a key figure in the Babylonian and Persian empires, known for his unwavering faith and devotion to God. In this verse, Daniel is seeking God earnestly. 2. The Lord God The object of Daniel's prayer and devotion. Daniel turns his attention to God, acknowledging His sovereignty and seeking His guidance and mercy. 3. Prayer and Petition Daniel's method of seeking God, emphasizing a heartfelt and earnest communication with God. 4. Fasting A spiritual discipline that Daniel employs to humble himself and focus on God, often associated with repentance and seeking divine intervention. 5. Sackcloth and Ashes Traditional symbols of mourning and repentance in ancient Near Eastern cultures, indicating Daniel's humility and contrition before God. Teaching Points The Importance of Earnest PrayerDaniel's example shows the power of turning our full attention to God in prayer, emphasizing sincerity and dedication in our communication with Him. Fasting as a Spiritual Discipline Fasting is a way to humble ourselves and focus on God, setting aside physical needs to prioritize spiritual growth and connection with God. Repentance and Humility The use of sackcloth and ashes signifies a heart posture of repentance and humility, reminding us of the importance of acknowledging our sins and seeking God's forgiveness. Seeking God in Times of Distress Daniel's actions teach us to seek God earnestly during challenging times, trusting in His sovereignty and mercy. The Role of Tradition in Worship While sackcloth and ashes are cultural symbols, they remind us of the value of meaningful traditions that draw us closer to God.(3) I set my face.--Comp. Daniel 6:11. Probably he prayed, as on that occasion, with his face towards Jerusalem. The prayer of Daniel bears some resemblance to those offered by Ezra and Nehemiah, while that of Baruch resembles it much more closely. (On this see Excursus F.)Verse 3. - And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. The Septuagint Version here is slavishly close; it renders אֶתְּנָא ('etruria) in accordance with its more common meaning, ἔδωακ, and the idiomatic phrase, "to seek prayer and supplication," is rendered εὑρεῖν προσευχήν. The true rendering is, as Professor Bevan points out," to set to prayer." Theodotion is nearly as slavish; only he omits "ashes," and has "fastings." The Peshitta is close, but does not follow the change of construction in the last clause. Jerome seems to have read, "my God." The cessation of the temple-worship, with its sacrifices, was naturally fitted to bring prayer as a mode of worship into a prominence it bad not before. Yet we find prayers made while the first temple was yet standing, as the prayer of Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:15), of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:6). The comparison more naturally stands with the prayers of Ezra and Nehemiah, as the subject of their supplication is similar to that of the prayer before us. Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew So I turned my attentionוָאֶתְּנָ֣ה (wā·’et·tə·nāh) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - first person common singular | third person feminine singular Strong's 5414: To give, put, set to אֶל־ (’el-) Preposition Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to the Lord אֲדֹנָי֙ (’ă·ḏō·nāy) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's 136: The Lord God הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔ים (hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm) Article | Noun - masculine plural Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative to seek לְבַקֵּ֥שׁ (lə·ḇaq·qêš) Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct Strong's 1245: To search out, to strive after Him by prayer תְּפִלָּ֖ה (tə·p̄il·lāh) Noun - feminine singular Strong's 8605: Intercession, supplication, a hymn and petition, וְתַחֲנוּנִ֑ים (wə·ṯa·ḥă·nū·nîm) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural Strong's 8469: Supplication for favor with fasting, בְּצ֖וֹם (bə·ṣō·wm) Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 6685: Fasting, a fast sackcloth, וְשַׂ֥ק (wə·śaq) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 8242: A mesh, coarse loose cloth, sacking, a bag and ashes. וָאֵֽפֶר׃ (wā·’ê·p̄er) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 665: Ashes Links Daniel 9:3 NIVDaniel 9:3 NLT Daniel 9:3 ESV Daniel 9:3 NASB Daniel 9:3 KJV Daniel 9:3 BibleApps.com Daniel 9:3 Biblia Paralela Daniel 9:3 Chinese Bible Daniel 9:3 French Bible Daniel 9:3 Catholic Bible OT Prophets: Daniel 9:3 I set my face to the Lord (Dan. 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