27
I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for days. Then I got up and went about the king's business. I was greatly disturbed by the vision and could not understand it.
Daniel
Daniel's Prayer
9
In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, a Mede by birth, who was ruler over the kingdom of the Chaldeans:
2
In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the books according to the word of the
Lord
to Jeremiah the prophet that the number of years for the desolation of Jerusalem would be 70.
3
So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petitions, with fasting,
•sackcloth
, and ashes.
4
I prayed to the
Lord
my God and confessed:
Ah, Lord — the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant with those who love Him and keep His commands —
5
we have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from Your commands and ordinances.
6
We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, fathers, and all the people of the land.
7
Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but this day public shame belongs to us: the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel — those who are near and those who are far, in all the countries where You have dispersed them because of the disloyalty they have shown toward You.
8
Lord
, public shame belongs to us, our kings, our leaders, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
9
Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God, though we have rebelled against Him
10
and have not obeyed the voice of the
Lord
our God by following His instructions that He set before us through His servants the prophets.
11
All Israel has broken Your law and turned away, refusing to obey You. The promised curse written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out on us because we have sinned against Him.
12
He has carried out His words that He spoke against us and against our rulers by bringing on us so great a disaster that nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever been done under all of heaven.
13
Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not appeased the
Lord
our God by turning from our iniquities and paying attention to Your truth.
14
So the
Lord
kept the disaster in mind and brought it on us, for the
Lord
our God is righteous in all He has done. But we have not obeyed Him.
15
Now, Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and made Your name renowned as it is this day, we have sinned, we have acted wickedly.
16
Lord, in keeping with all Your righteous acts, may Your anger and wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become an object of ridicule to all those around us.
17
Therefore, our God, hear the prayer and the petitions of Your servant. Show Your favor to Your desolate sanctuary for the Lord's sake.
18
Listen, my God, and hear. Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city called by Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You based on our righteous acts, but based on Your abundant compassion.
19
Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and act! My God, for Your own sake, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.
The 70 Weeks of Years
20
While I was speaking, praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my petition before
•Yahweh
my God concerning the holy mountain of my God —
21
while I was praying, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the first vision, came to me in my extreme weariness, about the time of the evening offering.
22
He gave me this explanation: “Daniel, I've come now to give you understanding.
23
At the beginning of your petitions an answer went out, and I have come to give it, for you are treasured by God. So consider the message and understand the vision:
24
Seventy weeks are decreed
about your people and your holy city —
to bring the rebellion to an end,
to put a stop to sin,
to wipe away iniquity,
to bring in everlasting righteousness,
to seal up vision and prophecy,
and to anoint the most holy place.
25
Know and understand this:
From the issuing of the decree
to restore and rebuild Jerusalem
until
•Messiah
the Prince
will be seven weeks and 62 weeks.
It will be rebuilt with a plaza and a moat,
but in difficult times.
26
After those 62 weeks
the Messiah will be cut off
and will have nothing.
The people of the coming prince
will destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end will come with a flood,
and until the end there will be war;
desolations are decreed.
27
He will make a firm covenant
with many for one week,
but in the middle of the week
he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering.
And the abomination of desolation
will be on a wing of the temple
until the decreed destruction
is poured out on the desolator.”
Daniel
Vision of a Glorious One
10
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. The message was true and was about a great conflict. He understood the message and had understanding of the vision.
2
In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks.
3
I didn't eat any rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I didn't put any oil on my body until the three weeks were over.
4
On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris,
5
I looked up, and there was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist.
6
His body was like topaz, his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.
7
Only I, Daniel, saw the vision. The men who were with me did not see it, but a great terror fell on them, and they ran and hid.
8
I was left alone, looking at this great vision. No strength was left in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless.
9
I heard the words he said, and when I heard them I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.
Angelic Conflict
10
Suddenly, a hand touched me and raised me to my hands and knees.
11
He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man treasured by God. Understand the words that I'm saying to you. Stand on your feet, for I have now been sent to you.” After he said this to me, I stood trembling.
12
“Don't be afraid, Daniel,” he said to me, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers.
13
But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for 21 days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia.
14
Now I have come to help you understand what will happen to your people in the last days, for the vision refers to those days.”
15
While he was saying these words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and was speechless.
16
Suddenly one with human likeness touched my lips. I opened my mouth and said to the one standing in front of me, “My lord, because of the vision, anguish overwhelms me and I am powerless.
17
How can someone like me, your servant, speak with someone like you, my lord? Now I have no strength, and there is no breath in me.”
18
Then the one with human likeness touched me again and strengthened me.
19
He said, “Don't be afraid, you who are treasured by God. Peace to you; be very strong! ”
As he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”
20
He said, “Do you know why I've come to you? I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I leave, the prince of Greece will come.
21
No one has the courage to support me against them except Michael, your prince. However, I will tell you what is recorded in the book of truth.
Daniel
11
In the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to strengthen and protect him.
2
Now I will tell you the truth.
Prophecies about Persia and Greece
“Three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will be far richer than the others. By the power he gains through his riches, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.
3
Then a warrior king will arise; he will rule a vast realm and do whatever he wants.
4
But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and divided to the four winds of heaven, but not to his descendants; it will not be the same kingdom that he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and will go to others besides them.
Kings of the South and the North
5
“The king of the South will grow powerful, but one of his commanders will grow more powerful and will rule a kingdom greater than his.
6
After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. She will not retain power, and his strength will not endure. She will be given up, together with her entourage, her father, and the one who supported her during those times.
7
In the place of the king of the South, one from her family will rise up, come against the army, and enter the fortress of the king of the North. He will take action against them and triumph.
8
He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious articles of silver and gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North,
9
who will enter the kingdom of the king of the South and then return to his own land.
10
“His sons will mobilize for war and assemble a large number of armed forces. They will advance, sweeping through like a flood, and will again wage war as far as his fortress.
11
Infuriated, the king of the South will march out to fight with the king of the North who will raise a large army but they will be handed over to his enemy.
12
When the army is carried off, he will become arrogant and cause tens of thousands to fall, but he will not triumph.
13
The king of the North will again raise a multitude larger than the first. After some year she will advance with a great army and many supplies.
14
“In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will assert themselves to fulfill a vision, but they will fail.
15
Then the king of the North will come, build up an assault ramp, and capture a well-fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand; even their select troops will not be able to resist.
16
The king of the North who comes against him will do whatever he wants, and no one can oppose him. He will establish himself in the beautiful land with total destruction in his hand.
17
He will resolve to come with the force of his whole kingdom and will reach an agreement with him. He will give him a daughter in marriage to destroy it, but she will not stand with him or support him.
18
Then he will turn his attention to the coasts and islands and capture many. But a commander will put an end to his taunting; instead, he will turn his taunts against him.
19
He will turn his attention back to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble, fall, and be no more.
20
“In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be shattered, though not in anger or in battle.
21
“In his place a despised person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come during a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
22
A flood of forces will be swept away before him; they will be shattered, as well as the covenant prince.
23
After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully. He will rise to power with a small nation.
24
During a time of peace, he will come into the richest parts of the province and do what his fathers and predecessors never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will make plans against fortified cities, but only for a time.
25
“With a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will prepare for battle with an extremely large and powerful army, but he will not succeed, because plots will be made against him.
26
Those who eat his provisions will destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.
27
The two kings, whose hearts are bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.
28
The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; he will take action, then return to his own land.