Daniel, 9

1. It was the first year of Darius son of Artaxerxes, a Mede by race who assumed the throne of Chaldaea.

1. In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasu-e'rus, by birth a Mede, who became king over the realm of the Chalde'ans --

2. In the first year of his reign I, Daniel, was studying the scriptures, counting over the number of years -- as revealed by Yahweh to the prophet Jeremiah -- that were to pass before the desolation of Jerusalem would come to an end, namely seventy years.

2. in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years which, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

3. I turned my face to the Lord God begging for time to pray and to plead, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.

3. Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

4. I pleaded with Yahweh my God and made this confession: 'O my Lord, God great and to be feared, you keep the covenant and show faithful love towards those who love you and who observe your commandments:

4. I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, "O Lord, the great and terrible God, who keepest covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,

5. we have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly, we have betrayed your commandments and rulings and turned away from them.

5. we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from thy commandments and ordinances;

6. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our chief men, our ancestors and all people of the country.

6. we have not listened to thy servants the prophets, who spoke in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7. Saving justice, Lord, is yours; we have only the look of shame we wear today, we, the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the whole of Israel, near and far away, in every country to which you have dispersed us because of the treachery we have committed against you.

7. To thee, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us confusion of face, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those that are near and those that are far away, in all the lands to which thou hast driven them, because of the treachery which they have committed against thee.

8. To us, our kings, our chief men and our ancestors, belongs the look of shame, O Yahweh, since we have sinned against you.

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

9. And it is for the Lord our God to have mercy and to pardon, since we have betrayed him,

9. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness; because we have rebelled against him,

10. and have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God nor followed the laws he has given us through his servants the prophets.

10. and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by following his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

11. The whole of Israel has flouted your Law and turned away, unwilling to listen to your voice; and the curse and imprecation written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have come pouring down on us, because we have sinned against him.

11. All Israel has transgressed thy law and turned aside, refusing to obey thy voice. And the curse and oath which are written in the law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.

12. He has carried out the threats which he made against us and the chief men who governed us -- that he would bring so great a disaster down on us that the fate of Jerusalem would find no parallel under all heaven.

12. 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 the like of what has been done against Jerusalem.

13. And now, as written in the Law of Moses, this whole calamity has befallen us; even so, we have not appeased Yahweh our God by renouncing our crimes and learning your truth.

13. 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 giving heed to thy truth.

14. Yahweh has watched for the right moment to bring disaster on us, since Yahweh our God is just in all his dealings with us, and we have not listened to his voice.

14. 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 which he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice.

15. And now, Lord our God, who by your mighty hand brought us out of Egypt -- the renown you won then endures to this day -- we have sinned, we have done wrong.

15. And now, O Lord our God, who didst bring thy people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast made thee a name, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16. Lord, by all your acts of saving justice, turn away your anger and your fury from Jerusalem, your city, your holy mountain, for as a result of our sins and the crimes of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people are objects of scorn to all who surround us.

16. O Lord, according to all thy righteous acts, let thy anger and thy wrath turn away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy hill; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people have become a byword among all who are round about us.

17. And now, our God, listen to the prayer and pleading of your servant. For your own sake, Lord, let your face smile again on your desolate sanctuary.

17. Now therefore, O our God, hearken to the prayer of thy servant and to his supplications, and for thy own sake, O Lord, cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary, which is desolate.

18. Listen, my God, listen to us; open your eyes and look at our plight and at the city that bears your name. Relying not on our upright deeds but on your great mercy, we pour out our plea to you.

18. O my God, incline thy ear and hear; open thy eyes and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name; for we do not present our supplications before thee on the ground of our righteousness, but on the ground of thy great mercy.

19. Listen, Lord! Forgive, Lord! Hear, Lord, and act! For your own sake, my God, do not delay -- since your city and your people alike bear your name.'

19. O LORD, hear; O LORD, forgive; O LORD, give heed and act; delay not, for thy own sake, O my God, because thy city and thy people are called by thy name."

20. I was still speaking, still at prayer, confessing my own sins and the sins of my people Israel, and placing my plea before Yahweh my God for the holy mountain of my God,

20. While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy hill of my God;

21. still speaking, still at prayer, when Gabriel, the being I had originally seen in vision, swooped on me in full flight at the hour of the evening sacrifice.

21. 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.

22. He came, he spoke, he said to me, 'Now, Daniel; I have come down to teach you how to understand.

22. He came and he said to me, "O Daniel, I have now come out to give you wisdom and understanding.

23. When your pleading began, a word was uttered, and I have come to tell you. You are a man specially chosen. Grasp the meaning of the word, understand the vision:

23. At the beginning of your supplications a word went forth, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the word and understand the vision.

24. 'Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city, for putting an end to transgression, for placing the seal on sin, for expiating crime, for introducing everlasting uprightness for setting the seal on vision and on prophecy, for anointing the holy of holies.

24. "Seventy weeks of years are decreed concerning 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.

25. Know this, then, and understand: From the time there went out this message: "Return and rebuild Jerusalem" to the coming of an Anointed Prince, seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, with squares and ramparts restored and rebuilt, but in a time of trouble.

25. Know therefore and understand that from the going forth 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.

26. And after the sixty-two weeks an Anointed One put to death without his . . . city and sanctuary ruined by a prince who is to come. The end of that prince will be catastrophe and, until the end, there will be war and all the devastation decreed.

26. 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.

27. He will strike a firm alliance with many people for the space of a week; and for the space of one half-week he will put a stop to sacrifice and oblation, and on the wing of the Temple will be the appalling abomination until the end, until the doom assigned to the devastator.'

27. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week; and for half of the week he shall cause sacrifice and offering to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator."