Daniel 9

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the offspring of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—

in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years about which the LORD’s word came to Jeremiah the prophet for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years.

I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and petitions, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, “Oh, Lord, the great and dreadful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments,

we have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from your precepts and from your ordinances.

We haven’t 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.

“Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but to us confusion of face, as it is today; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, who are near and who are far off, through all the countries where you have driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against you.

Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.

To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him.

We haven’t obeyed the LORD our God’s voice, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

Yes, all Israel have transgressed your law, turning aside, that they should not obey your voice. “Therefore the curse and the oath written in the law of Moses the servant of God has been poured out on us, for we have sinned against him.

He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing on us a great evil; for under the whole sky, such has not been done as has been done to Jerusalem.

As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come on us. Yet we have not entreated the favor of the LORD our God, that we should turn from our iniquities and have discernment in your truth.

Therefore the LORD has watched over the evil, and brought it on us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he does, and we have not obeyed his voice.

“Now, Lord our God, who has brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have gotten yourself renown, as it is today, we have sinned. We have done wickedly.

Lord, according to all your righteousness, please let your anger and your wrath be turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a reproach to all who are around us.

“Now therefore, our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his petitions, and cause your face to shine on your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.

My God, turn your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by your name; for we do not present our petitions before you for our righteousness, but for your great mercies’ sake.

Lord, hear. Lord, forgive. Lord, listen and do. Don’t defer, for your own sake, my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

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—

yes, while I was speaking in prayer—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 offering.

He instructed me and talked with me, and said, “Daniel, I have now come to give you wisdom and understanding.

At the beginning of your petitions the commandment went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved. Therefore consider the matter and understand the vision.

“Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.

“Know therefore and discern that from the going out of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem to the Anointed One, the prince, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be built again, with street and moat, even in troubled times.

After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off, and will have nothing. The people of the prince who come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will be with a flood, and war will be even to the end. Desolations are determined.

He will make a firm covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. On the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate; and even to the decreed full end, wrath will be poured out on the desolate.”

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter centers on Daniel’s prayer of confession and the visionary response delivered by the angel Gabriel, revealing a prophetic timeline for Israel’s redemption and the coming of the Messiah. Situated in the middle of the book, it marks a transition from Daniel’s interpretive visions to deeper revelations about Israel’s future, grounded in covenant theology and God’s faithfulness despite judgment.

Flow.

Daniel studies Jeremiah’s prophecy of seventy years of desolation and recognizes the time is nearing fulfillment, prompting intercession.
He prays with deep humility, confessing the corporate sin of Israel, affirming God’s righteousness, and appealing to His covenant mercy.
As Daniel prays, Gabriel arrives to deliver a message: seventy weeks (seventy sevens) are decreed to accomplish national and spiritual restoration.
The prophecy outlines a timeline leading to the Anointed One, His rejection, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the ultimate fulfillment of redemption.

Connections.
Following chapter 8, where Daniel receives a vision of the ram and goat and is told the vision “concerns the time of the end” (8:17), this chapter deepens that eschatological focus by revealing a divinely appointed period for the resolution of Israel’s exile and sin. Daniel’s prayer of penitence reflects the ongoing reality of exile even under Medo-Persian rule, tying back to the themes of divine judgment in chapter 1 and the prayer for wisdom in chapter 2. The revelation of the seventy weeks directly prepares for chapter 10, where angelic conflict and further prophetic unveiling continue, setting the stage for the detailed conflicts and resurrections described in chapter 12.

What it teaches.
Daniel’s prayer exemplifies true repentance grounded in the covenant relationship between God and Israel, acknowledging both human failure and divine faithfulness (WCF 19.2). The seventy weeks prophecy reveals God’s sovereign control over history, orchestrating redemption through judgment and the coming of the Anointed One who will make atonement and bring in everlasting righteousness (WCF 8.6; HC LD 12). The fulfillment of Jeremiah’s seventy years becomes the doorway to an even greater fulfillment—God’s plan to finish sin, reconcile iniquity, and seal up prophecy through the Messianic work, pointing to Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice (LD 16–18). The destruction of the city and sanctuary after the Anointed One’s cutting off foreshadows the end of the old covenant’s typological system (; Canons of Dort 1.5).

Apply.
When God’s people own their sin and cling to His covenant promises, He responds with revelation and mercy, even in the midst of coming judgment.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.