Bible Time

¹IN the 1st year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, a descendant of the Medes who became king over the realm of the Chaldeans, ²In the 1st year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the scriptures the number of the years, seeing that the word of Yahvah came to pass which the prophet Jeremiah said, that 70 years would elapse before the desolations of Jerusalem would come to an end.

³And I lifted up my face before the Lord God, seeking by prayer and supplications, with fasting and with sackcloth and with ashes;

⁴And I prayed before Yahvah my God and made my confession and said, I beg you, oh Lord, the great and revered God, who keeps the contract and mercy to those who love him and to those who keep his commandments; ⁵We have sinned and have committed iniquity and have done wickedly and have rebelled and have gone astray from your commandments and your judgments; ⁶We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. ⁷Oh Lord, victory belongs to you, but shame is ours, as at this day, to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to all Israel that are near and that are far off, through all the countries where you have driven them, because of their iniquity which they transgressed against you. ⁸Oh Yahvah, to us belongs shame of faces to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. ⁹To the Lord God belong mercies and forgiveness of sins, for we have rebelled against him; ¹⁰We have not obeyed the voice of Yahvah our God, to walk according to his laws which he set before us by his servants the prophets. ¹¹Yes, all Israel have transgressed your law and have gone astray and have not obeyed your voice; therefore you have brought on them the curses and the oaths that are written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned in his presence. ¹²And he has confirmed his words which he spoke against us and against our judges that judged us, by bringing on us a great evil; for under the whole heaven has not been done as has been done on Jerusalem. ¹³As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come on us; yet we have not prayed before Yahvah our God, that we might repent from our iniquities and understand your truth. ¹⁴Therefore, Yahvah has stirred up this evil and brought it on us; for Yahvah our God is righteous in all his works which he has done, yet we have not obeyed his voice. ¹⁵And now, oh Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made yourself a name, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

¹⁶Oh Lord, according to all your righteousness which you did toward us, let your anger and your fury be turned away from your city Jerusalem and from your holy mountain, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, your people are scattered in every land, and Jerusalem has become a disgrace to all peoples. ¹⁷Now therefore, oh God, hear the prayer of your servant and his supplication, and cause your face to shine on your sanctuary which is desolate, for your name's sake, oh Lord. ¹⁸Oh my God, incline your ear and hear; open your eyes and look our ruined and desolate places and the city which is called by your name; for we do not present our supplications before you for our righteousness, but for your great mercies. ¹⁹Oh Lord, hear; oh Lord, forgive us; oh Lord, listen and do; do not delay for your own name's sake, oh my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.

²⁰And while I was yet praying and confessing my offenses and the offenses of my people Israel and presenting my supplication before Yahvah my God for the holy mountain of my God, ²¹Yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision before, came from heaven, flying swiftly, and drew near me at the time of the evening sacrifice. ²²And he came and talked to me and said to me, Oh Daniel, I have now come to instruct you, so that you might understand. ²³At the beginning of your prayer, the word came forth and I have come to make it known to you; for you are greatly beloved; therefore discern the matter and understand the vision. ²⁴70 times 7 weeks are determined on your people and on your holy city, to finish the transgressions and to make an end of sins and for the forgiveness of the iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness and to fulfill the vision of the prophets and to give the most holy to Messiah. ²⁵Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of the Messiah the king will be 7 times 7 weeks, and 62 times 7 weeks; the people will return and build Jerusalem, its streets, and its broad ways at the end of the appointed times. ²⁶After 62 times 7 weeks, Messiah will be slain, and the city will be without a ruler; and the holy city will be destroyed together with the coming king; and its end will be a mass exile, and at the end of the war, desolations are determined. ²⁷And he will confirm the contract with many for 7 weeks and 1/2 of 7 weeks, then he will cause the sacrifice and gift offerings to cease, and on the horns of the altar the abomination of desolation; and the desolation will continue until the end of the appointed time; the city will remain desolate.