Daniel’s Prayer

9 In the first year of Dariuss son of Xerxesa t (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonianb kingdom—2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventyu years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting,v and in sackcloth and ashes.w

4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:x

“Lord, the great and awesome God,y who keeps his covenant of lovez with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinneda and done wrong.b We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned awayc from your commands and laws.d 6 We have not listenede to your servants the prophets,f who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors,g and to all the people of the land.

7 “Lord, you are righteous,h but this day we are covered with shamei—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scatteredj us because of our unfaithfulnessk to you.l 8 We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you.m 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving,n even though we have rebelled against him;o 10 we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.p 11 All Israel has transgressedq your lawr and turned away, refusing to obey you.

“Therefore the cursess and sworn judgmentst written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinnedu against you. 12 You have fulfilledv the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster.w Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done likex what has been done to Jerusalem.y 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lordz our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth.a 14 The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disasterb on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does;c yet we have not obeyed him.d

15 “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hande and who made for yourself a namef that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts,g turn awayh your anger and your wrathi from Jerusalem,j your city, your holy hill.k Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scornl to all those around us.

17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favorm on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear,n our God, and hear;o open your eyes and seep the desolation of the city that bears your Name.q We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.r 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive!s Lord, hear and act! For your sake,t my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

The Seventy “Sevens”

20 While I was speaking and praying, confessingu my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hillv—21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel,w the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.x 22 He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.y 23 As soon as you began to pray,z a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed.a Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:b

24 “Seventy ‘sevens’c are decreed for your people and your holy cityc to finishd transgression, to put an end to sin, to atoned for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness,e to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.e

25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuildf Jerusalem until the Anointed One,f g the ruler,h comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.i 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to deathj and will have nothing.g The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood:k War will continue until the end, and desolationsl have been decreed.m 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’h In the middle of the ‘seven’i he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the templej he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreedn is poured out on him.k”l

Daniel’s Vision of a Man

10 In the third year of Cyruso king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar).p Its message was trueq and it concerned a great war.a The understanding of the message came to him in a vision.

2 At that time I, Daniel, mournedr for three weeks. 3 I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips;s and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.

4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bankt of the great river, the Tigris,u 5 I looked upv and there before me was a man dressed in linen,w with a belt of fine goldx from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like topaz,y his face like lightning,z his eyes like flaming torches,a his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze,b and his voicec like the sound of a multitude.

7 I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it,d but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. 8 So I was left alone,e gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left,f my face turned deathly paleg and I was helpless.h 9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.i

10 A hand touched mej and set me trembling on my hands and knees.k 11 He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed,l consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up,m for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.

12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid,n Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humbleo yourself before your God, your wordsp were heard, and I have come in response to them.q 13 But the princer of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael,s one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14 Now I have come to explaint to you what will happen to your people in the future,u for the vision concerns a time yet to come.v”

15 While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless.w 16 Then one who looked like a manb touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak.x I said to the one standing before me, “I am overcome with anguishy because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak. 17 How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.”z

18 Again the one who looked like a man toucheda me and gave me strength.b 19 “Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,”c he said. “Peace!d Be strong now; be strong.”e

When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.”f

20 So he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greeceg will come; 21 but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth.h (No one supports me against them except Michael,i your prince.

11 And in the first year of Dariusj the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.)

The Kings of the South and the North

2 “Now then, I tell you the truth:k Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.l 3 Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases.m 4 After he has arisen, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven.n It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprootedo and given to others.

5 “The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power. 6 After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his powera will not last. In those days she will be betrayed, together with her royal escort and her fatherb and the one who supported her.

7 “One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the Northp and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious. 8 He will also seize their gods,q their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt.r For some years he will leave the king of the North alone. 9 Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. 10 His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible floods and carry the battle as far as his fortress.

11 “Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated.t 12 When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant. 13 For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped.

14 “In those times many will rise against the king of the South. Those who are violent among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success. 15 Then the king of the North will come and build up siege rampsu and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand. 16 The invader will do as he pleases;v no one will be able to stand against him.w He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it.x 17 He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plansc will not succeedy or help him. 18 Then he will turn his attention to the coastlandsz and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back on him.a 19 After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall,b to be seen no more.c

20 “His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor.d In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.

21 “He will be succeeded by a contemptiblee person who has not been given the honor of royalty.f He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. 22 Then an overwhelming army will be swept awayg before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed.h 23 After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully,i and with only a few people he will rise to power. 24 When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers.j He will plot the overthrow of fortresses—but only for a time.

25 “With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him. 26 Those who eat from the king’s provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle. 27 The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil,k will sit at the same table and liel to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time.m 28 The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country.

29 “At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. 30 Ships of the western coastlandsn will oppose him, and he will lose heart.o Then he will turn back and vent his furyp against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

31 “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice.q Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.r 32 With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resists him.

33 “Those who are wise will instructt many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered.u 34 When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincerev will join them. 35 Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined,w purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

The King Who Exalts Himself

36 “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himselfx above every god and will say unheard-of thingsy against the God of gods.z He will be successful until the time of wratha is completed, for what has been determined must take place.b 37 He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. 38 Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. 39 He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price.d

40 “At the time of the end the king of the Southc will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will stormd out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.e 41 He will also invade the Beautiful Land.f Many countries will fall, but Edom,g Moabh and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. 42 He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. 43 He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt,i with the Libyansj and Cushitese in submission. 44 But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. 45 He will pitch his royal tents between the seas atf the beautiful holy mountain.k Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.