Chapter Text
Daniel's Prayer
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;
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.
The Seventy Weeks
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.
Summary
In the first year of Darius, Daniel studies Jeremiah's prophecy and understands that the seventy years of desolation for Jerusalem are nearing completion. He turns to God in prayer and fasting, confessing the sins of his people. He acknowledges God's righteousness and Israel's rebellion, pleading for mercy not on the basis of Israel's merit but for God's own name's sake. Gabriel appears and reveals the prophecy of seventy weeks determined upon Israel, within which Messiah the Prince shall come, be cut off, and a coming prince shall destroy the city and sanctuary.
Meaning
Daniel's prayer is a model of intercessory confession. Though personally righteous, he identifies with his people's sin, using "we" throughout. True intercession requires solidarity with those for whom one prays.
The seventy weeks prophecy is one of the most precise messianic predictions in Scripture. The timeline from the decree to restore Jerusalem to Messiah the Prince, the cutting off of Messiah with nothing for Himself, and the subsequent destruction of the city and sanctuary trace the outline of redemptive history from the Persian period through the coming of Christ and the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. No other Old Testament passage so precisely maps the chronology of the Messiah's appearing.
Background
The seventy weeks, literally seventy sevens, are generally understood as weeks of years, totaling 490 years. The starting point is the decree to restore Jerusalem, variously dated to Cyrus (539 BC), Darius (520 BC), or Artaxerxes (458 or 445 BC).
Jeremiah's prophecy of seventy years of exile is found in Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10. Daniel's careful study of Scripture demonstrates that prophetic revelation and diligent study of existing Scripture work together.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-3Daniel discerns the time from Scripture
- vv. 4-6Confession of national rebellion
- vv. 7-14God's righteousness and Israel's shame
- vv. 15-19Plea for mercy on Jerusalem
- vv. 20-23Gabriel sent in answer to prayer
- vv. 24-27The prophecy of the seventy weeks
Key Verses
“To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;”— 9:9
A cornerstone confession of divine mercy amid human rebellion, frequently cited as a testimony to God's character of forgiveness even when His people deserve judgment.
“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.”— 9:19
The climactic plea of Daniel's prayer, treasured as a model of intercession that appeals not to human merit but to God's own name and glory.
“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.”— 9:24
The opening of the famous Seventy Weeks prophecy, one of the most studied messianic timelines in Scripture, foretelling atonement and everlasting righteousness.
“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.”— 9:26
A striking pre-Christian prophecy of Messiah's atoning death and the subsequent destruction of Jerusalem, central to Christian apologetics regarding Jesus' identity.
People & Places
People
- Darius — Son of Ahasuerus of Median descent, newly made king over the realm of the Chaldeans in whose first year Daniel prays.
- Daniel — The exiled prophet who, while studying Jeremiah's writings, intercedes for his people in fasting and confession.
- Ahasuerus — Father of Darius the Mede, mentioned to identify Darius's lineage.
- Jeremiah — The earlier prophet whose writings about the seventy years of desolation prompt Daniel's prayer.
- Moses — Referenced as the servant of God through whom the law and its covenant curses were given.
- Gabriel — The angelic messenger sent to Daniel to give him understanding of the seventy weeks vision.
- Messiah the Prince — The promised anointed One whose coming and being 'cut off' are foretold in the prophecy.
Places
- Jerusalem — The desolate holy city for which Daniel prays and which features centrally in the seventy weeks prophecy.
- Judah — The southern kingdom whose people Daniel confesses have sinned and been scattered.
- Egypt — Recalled as the land from which God delivered Israel with a mighty hand, grounding Daniel's appeal in past redemption.
- The holy mountain — Mount Zion in Jerusalem, the site of God's sanctuary, mourned as desolate.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
The Seventy Weeks prophecy (vv. 24-27) is among the most precise messianic predictions in the Old Testament. Verse 24 declares that within seventy 'weeks' (commonly understood as weeks of years, totaling 490 years) transgression will be finished and everlasting righteousness brought in. Verse 25 sets the starting point at the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, leading to 'Messiah the Prince,' and verse 26 foretells that Messiah would be 'cut off, but not for himself' — fulfilled in Christ's atoning crucifixion — followed by the destruction of the city and sanctuary, fulfilled in A.D. 70 when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.
Devotional
Daniel's prayer shows what mature faith looks like under the weight of national failure. He does not distance himself from his people's sin; he says 'we have sinned,' identifying with them in confession even though he himself was faithful in exile.
Notice too what stirs his prayer: he was reading Scripture. God's Word awakened his hope, and hope drove him to his knees rather than to passivity. When you face desolations of your own — broken relationships, spiritual dryness, cultural decay — let Daniel teach you to plead not your righteousness but God's mercy, and to trust that heaven hears the moment you begin to speak.
Literary Style
A blend of historical narrative, penitential prayer, and apocalyptic prophecy. The prayer (vv. 4-19) follows the classic Hebrew confession form with covenantal language echoing Deuteronomy and Leviticus, while the closing oracle (vv. 24-27) employs symbolic numerical prophecy characteristic of apocalyptic literature.