Daniel 9:4 - Forerunner Commentary

Daniel 9:4

2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through ^aJeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

3 ^aThen I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

4 And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O ^aLord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,

5 ^awe have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.

6 ^aNeither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land.

7 O Lord, ^arighteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.

8 “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.

9 ^aTo the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.

10 We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.

11 Yes, ^aall Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the ^bLaw of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him.

12 And He has ^aconfirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; ^bfor under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.

13 ^a“As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; ^byet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.

14 Therefore the Lord has ^akept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for ^bthe Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice.

15 And now, O Lord our God, ^awho brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself ^ba name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!

16 “O Lord, ^aaccording to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, ^bYour holy mountain; because for our sins, ^cand for the iniquities of our fathers, ^dJerusalem and Your people ^eare a reproach to all those around us.

17 Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, ^aand ^bfor the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on² Your sanctuary, ^cwhich is desolate.

18 ^aO my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes ^band see our desolations, and the city ^cwhich is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.

19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

The Seventy-Weeks Prophecy

20 Now while I was speaking, 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,

21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man ^aGabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning,¹ being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.

22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.

23 At the beginning of your supplications the¹ command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly ^abeloved; therefore ^bconsider the matter, and understand the vision:

24 “Seventy¹ weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
¹To make an end of sins,
^aTo make reconciliation for iniquity,
^bTo bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
^cAnd to anoint¹ the Most Holy.

25 “Know the¹refore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until ^aMessiah ^bthe Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street shall be built again, and the² wall,
Even in troublesome times.

26 “And after the sixty-two weeks
^aMessiah shall¹ be cut off, ^bbut not for Himself;
And ^cthe people of the prince who is to come
^dShall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.

27 Then he shall confirm ^a¹a covenant with ^bmany for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
^cEven until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the¹ desolate.”

Verse Comparison: Daniel 9:4

<< Daniel 9:3

Daniel 9:5 >>

American Standard Version
And I prayed unto Jehovah my God, and made confession, and said, Oh, Lord, the great and dreadful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments,

Amplified® Bible
And I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, Who keeps covenant, mercy, {and} loving-kindness with those who love Him and keep His commandments,

Contemporary English Version
(SEE 9:3)

Darby English Version
and I prayed unto Jehovah my God, and made my confession, and said, Alas Lord! the great and terrible ùGod, keeping covenant and loving-kindness with them that love him, and that keep his commandments:

Good News Bible
I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed the sins of my people. I said, "Lord God, you are great, and we honor you. You are faithful to your covenant and show constant love to those who love you and do what you command.

King James Version
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;

New American Standard Bible
I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,

New International Version
I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:
"O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands,

New King James Version
And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,

Revised Standard Version
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,

Young's Literal Translation
And I pray to Jehovah my God, and confess, and say: `I beseech Thee, O Lord God, the great and the fearful, keeping the covenant and the kindness to those loving Him, and to those keeping His commands;

New English Translation
I prayed to the LORD my God, confessing in this way: “O Lord,¹ great and awesome God who is faithful to his covenant² with those who love him and keep his commandments,

<< Daniel 9:3

Daniel 9:5 >>