In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a
Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—in the
first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the
number of years that, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah
the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of
Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.
Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and
pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to
the LORD my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and
awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who
love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong
and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your
commandments and rules. We have not listened to your servants the
prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our
fathers, and to all the people of the land. To you, O Lord, belongs
righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of
Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those
who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which
you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have
committed against you. To us, O LORD, belongs open shame, to our
kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned
against you. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for
we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the
LORD our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his
servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and
turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath
that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been
poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. He has
confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our
rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For
under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what
has been done against Jerusalem. As it is written in the Law of
Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not
entreated the favor of the LORD our God, turning from our
iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. Therefore the LORD
has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the
LORD our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we
have not obeyed his voice. And now, O Lord our God, who brought
your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have
made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have
done wickedly.
“O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and
your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill,
because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers,
Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are
around us. Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your
servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord,
make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. O
my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our
desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do
not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but
because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord,
pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God,
because your city and your people are called by your name.”
While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin
of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the LORD my God
for the holy hill of my God, while I was speaking in prayer, the
man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me
in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He made me
understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come
out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your
pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you,
for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and
understand the vision.
“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city,
to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for
iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both
vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Know therefore
and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and
build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there
shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built
again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the
sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have
nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy
the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to
the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall
make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the
week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing
of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the
decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
