Daniel 9 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Daniel 9

Daniel’s Prayer for His People

9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, 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 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6 We 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. 7 To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. 8 To us, O LORD, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him 10 and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that 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 confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us,¹ by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. 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 gaining insight by your truth. 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 that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 “O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord,² make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

Gabriel Brings an Answer

20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the LORD my God for the holy hill of my God, 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 made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. 23 At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.

The Seventy Weeks

24 “Seventy weeks³ are decreed about 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.⁴ 25 Know therefore and understand that from the going out 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 again⁵ with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 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. Its⁶ end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week,⁷ and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

Footnotes

[1] 9:12 Or our judges who judged us
[2] 9:17 Hebrew for the Lord’s sake
[3] 9:24 Or sevens; also twice in verse 25 and once in verse 26
[4] 9:24 Or thing, or one
[5] 9:25 Or there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It shall be built again
[6] 9:26 Or His
[7] 9:27 Or seven; twice in this verse

Commentary

v1: The visions of chapters 7 and 8 were given during Belshazzar's reign, but this prayer followed during Darius' reign. His prayer is inspired and fuelled by the word of God.

v2: Daniel reads his Bible, bringing God's word to bear in a difficult situation. God's word regarding the captivity has been fulfilled; and Daniel now looks to the ending of the 70 years and the return from captivity; Jer 25.11-12; 29.10.

v3: God's word leads Daniel into prayer; here is effort and commitment, for he pleads in sackcloth and ashes. It is suggested that he is around 80 years old at this stage; still burning with spiritual zeal.

v4: Daniel begins with the character of God; He is righteous (v7,14,16) and He is merciful (v9,18); this is the God whom Daniel adores. Prayer must be based upon the character of God Himself.

v5: Confession of sins. Daniel identifies with his own people, even though he himself is not guilty. As we see God, we see ourselves in the right perspective. Daniel sees this truth as a representative of the people, rather than in some personal sense. ‘I am because we are!’ (Southern African proverb; the concept of Ubuntu.)

v6: Sins persisted as the people failed to heed God's word sent through the prophets.

v7-8: The sense of shame; God has shown Himself righteous, and the people are exposed as unfaithful. Their dispersion throughout the world was and is proof of this.

v9: Mercy and forgiveness; the door through which the penitent can enter. None can plead his own goodness or righteousness before Him, v18. Peter and John (John 20.5) and Mary (John 20.11) all stooped to see into the empty tomb.

v10: The test is the word of God; the people had not obeyed, and therefore they were judged. Any claim regarding ordinary human standards of morality is irrelevant in the light of God's word.

v11: Judgment came because of transgressions, for they acted in ungodly ways. The subsequent judgment, through military defeats, and dispersion throughout the world, was no accident, but God's judgment upon His people.

v12: God's word was actually fulfilled in his judgment upon His people; He had long warned them what would happen. See Jer 30.7, what happened was truly awful.

v13-14: The people had not learned the lesson, they had not truly repented. Through it all God remains righteous, for He cannot be otherwise.

For Daniel these things were not theoretical, but deeply relevant and personal, for it was his people who had suffered terribly. Like Jeremiah (esp in Lamentations), he identifies with his own people.

v15: As Daniel's prayer draws to a close, he acknowledges God's mighty hand upon His people in delivering them from Egypt. Through that deliverance He made for Himself a Name of enduring glory.

Daniel has acknowledged God's wonderful character, his people's rebellion, and, in closing, he asks for God to bring fresh blessing.

v16: According to God's righteousness; for God's anger and wrath are now spent, as the 70 years are complete.

v17: A significant verse, as Daniel prays "for your sake, O Lord." As in v13, the Son of Man is distinct from the Ancient of Days. Daniel sees something of the truth of the Godhead. Here are the Father and the Son.

v18: See Deut 7.7-8; we do not pray because of our righteous deeds, but because of His great mercies.

v19: Do not delay! We read that at the beginning of Daniel's supplication, the command went out from God, v23. God's blessing is somehow triggered by the prayer of Daniel.

Daniel's concern throughout is the Name of the Lord, and here through the testimony of Jerusalem, the city that bears His Name.

v20-21: The vision while he is praying, and indication of Daniel's devotion.

Daniel times his life by the sacrifices of the Lord, even though they were not being made; here is God's man, living by God's time.

Gabriel's swift flight reflects Daniel's urgency.

v22-23: God gives Daniel understanding, as in previous chapters. His visions were not restricted to the lives of heathen kings, but include the ‘future history' of God's people.

Daniel was ‘highly esteemed,’ not just be Gentile kings, but by God Himself. God may not have his favourites, but Daniel was certainly God’s man at this time.

v24-27: v24 summarises the comments that follow, covering the 70 "sevens," or weeks. The 70 years that Daniel started with was only part of the wider picture.

The six promises fall into two groups:

Salvation prophecies; ‘to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness.’
Kingdom prophecies; ‘to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.

The first seven weeks, or 49 years, takes us to the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem, which was built in troublesome times. This covers the rest of the OT; Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.

62 weeks, of 434 years later, Jesus Christ died, cut off, but not for Himself, not for His own sins. Later came the destruction of the city and the sanctuary, prophesied in Mark 13.14.

The final week, the 70th, is apparently part way through, the clock having stopped; there being more promises for Israel yet to be fulfilled. It is perhaps an indefinite period of time, during which we now live.

The final 3½ times are prophesied in Revelation; this phrase occurs several times (a time, times, and half a time; or 1260 days). These are difficult things, but Scripture is pointing us forward to events yet to come.

These verses present a further argument that Daniel could not have lived after the events which he prophesied, see 7.17.