Daniel, 9

1. In 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;

1. In the first year of the reign of Darius, son of Ahasuerus, of the Median race, who was king of Chaldea, the following happened:

2. In 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.

2. I, Daniel, thought about the number of years, according to the scriptures, before Jerusalem should be left in ruins. Yahweh spoke of seventy years to the prophet Jeremiah.

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

3. I turned to the Lord and begged him. I pleaded with prayers and fasting. I did penance, I put on sackcloth and sat on an ash pile.

4. And 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;

4. I prayed to Yahweh, my God, and made this confession: "Lord God, great and to be feared, you keep your Covenant and love for those who love you and observe your commandments.

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

5. We have sinned, we have not been just, we have been rebels, and have turned away from your commandments and laws.

6. Neither 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.

6. We have not listened to your servants, the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, leaders, fathers and to all the people of the land.

7. O 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.

7. Lord, justice is yours, but ours is a face full of shame, as it is to this day - we, the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the whole of Israel, near and far away, in all the lands where you have dispersed us because of the infidelity we have committed against you.

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

8. Ours is the shame, O Lord for we, our kings, princes, fathers, have sinned against you.

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

9. We hope for pardon and mercy from the Lord, because we have rebelled against him.

10. Neither 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.

10. We have not listened to the voice of Yahweh, our God, or followed the laws which he has given us through his servants, the prophets.

11. Yea, 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.

11. All Israel has broken your law and has turned away from it rather than listen to your voice. Therefore, the curse and the threats written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have come upon us because we have sinned against him.

12. And 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.

12. He has carried out the threats he pronounced against us and against those who governed us: he brought a terrible calamity upon us. No, never could there be anything worse than what has come upon Jerusalem.

13. As [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.

13. All these disasters have struck us with dread as it was written in the Law of Moses, but we have not tried to calm the anger of Yahweh, our God. We have not turned away from our sins and learned to listen to your truth.

14. Therefore 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.

14. Yahweh made true his threat and brought this calamity upon us, for Yahweh, our God, is just in all his works, while we have not obeyed his voice.

15. And 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.

15. And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt by your powerful hand and gained renown to this day, we have sinned, we have been unfaithful.

16. O 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.

16. Lord, in keeping with your kindness, turn away your anger and wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy mountain, for because of our sins and the wickedness of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people are the laughingstock of all around us.

17. Now 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.

17. So now, our God, listen to the prayer and pleading of your servant and, for your own sake, let your face shine upon your desolate sanctuary.

18. O 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.

18. My God, incline your ear and listen. Open your eyes and see how the city lies in ruins, the city upon which your Name has been pronounced. We do not rely on our good works, but we pour out our plea before you, trusting in your great mercy.

19. O 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.

19. Listen, Lord! Lord, forgive! Pay attention to us, Lord! Act, my God, and do not delay for your own sake, since your city and your people are called by your name."

20. And 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;

20. At the hour of the evening sacrifice, I was still speaking, confessing my sins and those of Israel, my people, begging Yahweh on behalf of his Holy Mountain.

21. Yea, 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.

21. At that moment, Gabriel whom I had seen at the beginning of the vision, came to me, flying,

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

22. and he said to me, "Daniel, I have come now to make you understand.

23. At 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.

23. As you were praying, a word was uttered and I have come to teach it to you because God loves you. Pay attention to this word and understand the vision:

24. Seventy 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.

24. Seventy weeks are set for your people and your holy city, to put an end to transgression, to put sin under lock, to wipe out the offense, and to bring everlasting justice, so that the visions and the prohecies will be fulfilled and the Holy of Holies be anointed.

25. Know 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.

25. Understand this, then: From the time the order to rebuild Jerusalem was given until an anointed leader comes, there shall be seven weeks. Then in sixty-two weeks squares and walls will be rebuilt, but in a difficult time.

26. And 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.

26. After the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one will be cut off; the city and the temple shall be destroyed by the people of a king who will come. They will be carried along as by a flood. Until the end, there will be wars and disasters which God has decreed.

27. And 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.

27. He will impose his law on a great part of the people for a week. By mid-week, he will put a stop to the sacrifices and offerings. The devastator shall place the abominable idol in the Temple until the ruin decreed by God comes upon the devastator."