In the first year of Darius, Daniel discerns from Jeremiah's prophecy that Jerusalem's desolation would last seventy years, prompting him to seek the Lord through fervent prayer, fasting, and confession. He confesses Israel's widespread sins and pleads for God's mercy upon the desolate city and sanctuary. While Daniel prays, the angel Gabriel appears to him, revealing a prophecy of "seventy weeks" determined for Daniel's people and holy city, detailing future events concerning the Messiah, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and subsequent destruction and desolation.
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.
¶ 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;
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
¶ 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;
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Study Notes for Daniel 9
Verse 1
Darius the Mede is likely a viceroy or governor appointed by Cyrus the Great, who inherited the Babylonian empire. This dating places the event around 539/538 B.C.
Verse 2
Daniel realized the 70 years of Babylonian exile prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer. 25:11-12; 29:10) were drawing to a close. This understanding prompted his fervent prayer for national restoration.
Verse 3
The practice of fasting, wearing sackcloth, and sitting in ashes were traditional signs of deep mourning, repentance, and earnest seeking of God's favor.
Verse 4
Daniel begins his prayer by acknowledging God's sovereignty and faithfulness, grounding his petition not in Israel’s merit but in God’s unchanging character and covenant loyalty.
Verse 5
Daniel does not exempt himself or his generation; he uses the first-person plural ('We have sinned'), fully identifying with the corporate guilt of the nation.
Verse 11
The 'curse' and 'oath' refer to the warnings of judgment detailed in the Deuteronomic covenant (Lev. 26; Deut. 28), which explicitly predicted exile and calamity for disobedience.
Verse 14
The phrase 'the LORD hath watched upon the evil' emphasizes that God deliberately and justly executed the promised judgment because of Israel's persistent refusal to obey His voice.
Verse 15
Daniel invokes the Exodus, the foundational act of God’s redemptive power, reminding God of His historical commitment to protect and glorify His name through His people.
Verse 18
This verse is the theological heart of the prayer: Daniel pleads for restoration not based on Israel's 'righteousnesses' (merit or worth), but solely on God’s ‘great mercies’ and reputation.
Verse 21
Gabriel, the interpreting angel (cf. Dan. 8:16), arrived swiftly in response to Daniel’s prayer, emphasizing the immediacy of God’s attention. The 'evening oblation' refers to the time of the daily sacrifice (around 3 PM).
Verse 23
'Thou art greatly beloved' establishes Daniel’s favored status before God. The revelation is given because of Daniel’s faithful seeking and God’s gracious response.
Verse 24
The ‘seventy weeks’ (Hebrew *shabu’im*) are universally interpreted as seventy weeks of years, totaling 490 years, determined for the accomplishment of six major redemptive goals leading to the establishment of everlasting righteousness.
Verse 25
The 490 years are divided into three segments: 7 weeks (49 years) for the rebuilding of Jerusalem; 62 weeks (434 years) leading up to the Messiah; and the final 1 week (7 years).
Verse 26
'Messiah be cut off, but not for himself' is a clear prediction of the sacrificial death of the Anointed One. The subsequent destruction of the city and sanctuary refers historically to the Roman invasion led by Titus in A.D. 70.
Verse 27
This final 'week' (seven years) describes a ruler who confirms a covenant, then breaks it mid-week by causing the cessation of sacrifices and bringing the 'abomination of desolation,' a figure related to the Antichrist.
Use ←→ arrow keys to navigate
Settings
Reading Style
Typeface
Font Size px
The Calling of Disciples
19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Options
Choose a Book
Study Note
Bible Version
Recent History
Get the App
Add TrulyRandomVerse to your home screen for instant access
TRV