Daniel 9:1-12 ▼

1 |In the first year of the reign of Darius son of Ahasuerus, a descendant of the Medes, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans —

2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, noted in the Scripture the total years that were assigned by the message from the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem: 70 years.

3 |So I turned my attention to the Lord God, seeking him in prayer and supplication, accompanied with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

4 I prayed to the LORD my God, confessing and saying: 'Lord! Great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant and gracious love for those who love him and obey his commandments,

5 we've sinned, we've practiced evil, we've acted wickedly, and we've rebelled, turning away from your commands and from your regulations.

6 Furthermore, we haven't listened to your servants, the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, to our officials, to our ancestors, and to all of the people of the land.

7 To you, Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us, open humiliation—even to this day, to the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, both those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the lands to which you drove them because of their unfaithful acts that they committed against you.

8 Open humiliation belongs to us, LORD, to our kings, our officials, and our ancestors, because we've sinned against you.

9 But to the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we've rebelled against him

10 and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by walking in his laws that he gave us through his servants the prophets.

11 And all Israel flouted your Law, turning aside from it and not obeying your voice. Because we've sinned against him, the curse has been poured upon us, along with the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God.

12 He has confirmed his accusation that he spoke against us and against our rulers who governed us by bringing upon us great calamity, because nowhere in the universe has anything been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.