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The Prophets · Old Testament

Daniel 9

Daniel 9: Daniel's confession and the seventy weeks

General context

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, Daniel says he understands from books the number of years the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. He turns to the Lord with prayer, fasting, sackcloth and ashes and confesses. The prayer says Israel has sinned, rebelled and not heard the prophets; righteousness belongs to the Lord and confusion of faces to Judah, Jerusalem and all Israel; mercies belong to the Lord though they have rebelled; the curse written in the law of Moses has been poured out. Daniel recalls the exodus and asks the Lord to turn his anger from Jerusalem, to make his face shine on the desolate sanctuary, and to hear, forgive and act for his own sake. While he is still speaking, Gabriel, seen in the earlier vision, touches him about the time of the evening oblation. Gabriel says a commandment went out at the start of the supplications, that Daniel is greatly beloved, and that seventy weeks are determined on his people and holy city to finish transgression, make reconciliation for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy and anoint the most Holy. From the commandment to restore Jerusalem to the Messiah the Prince are seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street and wall will be rebuilt in troublous times; after the sixty-two weeks Messiah is cut off, the people of a coming prince destroy the city and sanctuary, and one confirms a covenant with many for one week, stops the sacrifice in its midst, and makes desolate until the end.

Cited passages: Daniel 9:1, Daniel 9:2, Daniel 9:3, Daniel 9:5, Daniel 9:6, Daniel 9:7, Daniel 9:9, Daniel 9:11, Daniel 9:12, Daniel 9:15, Daniel 9:16, Daniel 9:17, Daniel 9:19, Daniel 9:21, Daniel 9:23, Daniel 9:24, Daniel 9:25, Daniel 9:26, Daniel 9:27

Daniel 9 (KJV)

1In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

2In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

3And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

4And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

5We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

6Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.

8O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

9To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

10Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

11Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

12And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

13As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

14Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

15And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

17Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.

18O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

19O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

20And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God;

21Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

22And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

23At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

24Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

25Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

26And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

27And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

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Historical context

The Darius of this chapter is given a father, Ahasuerus, and a lineage, the seed of the Medes, and is said to have been made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; the passive phrasing does not say by whom. The text does not connect this Ahasuerus to any other bearer of the name. Daniel's starting point is a written word of the Lord to Jeremiah about seventy years, which he reads in books; the chapter does not quote Jeremiah's wording. Jeremiah's book carries the number in the Lord's words, that these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years, and again, after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you. The prayer speaks in the first person plural and confesses the sins of kings, princes, fathers and all the people; Daniel counts himself among the sinners. He appeals to the law of Moses and its curse as the explanation of Jerusalem's desolation. Gabriel is identified as the figure of the earlier vision, so chapter 8's interpreter returns. The seventy weeks are stated as determined, with the unit weeks not otherwise defined, and the total is split into seven, sixty-two and one. The passage names the Messiah the Prince and a prince that shall come, without identifying either; the pronoun he in verse 27 is not clearly assigned, and the text leaves it open. Nothing in the chapter reports a response from Daniel to Gabriel's words.

Cited passages: Daniel 9:1, Daniel 9:2, Jeremiah 25:11, Jeremiah 29:10, Daniel 9:8, Daniel 9:20, Daniel 9:13, Daniel 9:21, Daniel 9:24, Daniel 9:25, Daniel 9:26, Daniel 9:27

Literary context

The chapter is two speeches, Daniel's to God and Gabriel's to Daniel, joined by the notice that the answer comes while the prayer is still in Daniel's mouth. The prayer is built on a contrast repeated in three forms: righteousness belongs to the Lord, confusion of faces to us; mercies belong to the Lord, though we have rebelled; not for our righteousnesses but for thy great mercies. It moves from confession to remembrance of the exodus to petition, and the petition tightens into a run of imperatives in a single verse: hear, forgive, hearken and do, defer not. The phrase as at this day appears twice, once for shame and once for the Lord's renown. Gabriel's speech answers a prayer about seventy years with a decree of seventy weeks, and the sanctuary Daniel calls desolate is answered with a word about anointing the most Holy and, at the end, desolation determined again. The evening oblation marks the time of the visit, and the oblation ceasing marks the midst of the final week. The chapter's first person, I Daniel, ties it to chapters 7 and 8, but here a prayer comes before the revelation, and Daniel speaks before he is spoken to.

Cited passages: Daniel 9:20, Daniel 9:7, Daniel 9:9, Daniel 9:18, Daniel 9:19, Daniel 9:15, Daniel 9:24, Daniel 9:27, Daniel 9:21

Key moments

  1. Seventy years in the books (Daniel 9:2). Daniel reads Jeremiah's word about seventy years of Jerusalem's desolations.
  2. Prayer with sackcloth and ashes (Daniel 9:3). Daniel turns to the Lord with fasting and confession.
  3. We have sinned (Daniel 9:5). Daniel confesses Israel's rebellion in the first person plural.
  4. Hear, forgive, hearken and do (Daniel 9:19). The prayer ends with a run of appeals for the Lord's own sake.
  5. Gabriel arrives while he prays (Daniel 9:21). Gabriel touches Daniel about the time of the evening oblation.
  6. Seventy weeks determined (Daniel 9:24). Gabriel announces seventy weeks for the people and holy city.
  7. Messiah cut off (Daniel 9:26). After sixty-two weeks Messiah is cut off and the city destroyed.

For reflection

Daniel confesses sins as 'we' though the chapter has shown him faithful. What might it mean to pray in the first person plural for wrongs you did not personally commit?

People in this chapter

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