World English Bible · The Persian return
Daniel 9
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In the first year of the son of , of the of the , who was made king over the realm of the — in the first year of his reign I, , understood by the books the number of the years about which word came to the for the accomplishing of the desolations of , even seventy years. I set to , to seek by and petitions, with and . I to my , and made , and said, "Oh, , the great and dreadful , who keeps and with those who love him and keep his , we have , 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 , who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. ", belongs to you, but to us confusion of , as it is today; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of , 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. , to us belongs confusion of , to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have against you. To our belong and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him. We haven't our voice, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants . Yes, all Israel have transgressed , turning aside, that they should not your voice. "Therefore the and the written in of the has been poured out on us, for we have 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 . As in of , all this evil has come on us. Yet we have not entreated the of our , that we should turn from our and have discernment in your truth. Therefore has watched over the evil, and brought it on us; for our is in all his works which he does, and we have not his voice. "Now, our , who has brought your people out of the land of with a mighty hand, and have gotten yourself renown, as it is today, we have . We have done wickedly. , according to all your , please let your and your be turned away from your city , your mountain; because for our and for the of our fathers, and your people have become a to all who are around us. "Now therefore, our , listen to the of and to his petitions, and cause your to shine on your sanctuary that is desolate, for sake. My , 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 , but for your great ' sake. , hear. , forgive. , listen and do. Don't defer, for your own sake, my , because your city and your people are called by your name." While I was speaking, praying, and confessing my and the of my people Israel, and presenting my before my for the mountain of my — yes, while I was speaking in —the man , whom I had seen in the at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening . He instructed me and talked with me, and said, ", I have now come to give you and understanding. At the beginning of your petitions the went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved. Therefore consider the matter and understand the . "Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your city, to finish , to make an end of , to make reconciliation for , to bring in , to seal up and , and to anoint the most . "Know therefore and discern that from the going out of the to restore and build to , 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 will , and will have nothing. The people of the prince who come will destroy the city and . Its end will be with a flood, and war will be even to the end. Desolations are determined. He will make a firm with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will cause the and the to cease. On the of will come one who makes desolate; and even to the decreed full end, will be poured out on the desolate."
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
Christians read this chapter differently
- What are Daniel's seventy weeks? · Daniel 9:24-27
Every view at its strongest, with who holds it and what it has to answer for.
The world at this moment · The Persian return, 539 BC to 332 BC ›
Persia takes Babylon and reverses its policy, sending exiled peoples home to rebuild their temples. Judah returns as a small province, rebuilding under imperial permission rather than independence.
- Persia
- The largest empire the world had yet seen, from the Indus to the Aegean, run through provinces, a royal road, and a postal system. Its policy on conquered peoples was to send them home and fund their temples, in exchange for loyalty and prayers for the king. The Cyrus Cylinder states the policy in Cyrus's own words, and Ezra opens with the same policy applied to Judah.
- Judah
- A small, poor province called Yehud, a fraction of the old kingdom, with a rebuilt temple that made the people who remembered the first one weep. No king, and no prospect of one. Leadership passes to priests and scribes, which shapes everything afterward.
- Greece
- Persia and Greece collide at Marathon and Salamis, Persia loses, and Athens spends the following decades on the Parthenon, tragedy, and Socrates. Herodotus writes the first history in order to explain that war. Then Plato and Aristotle, whose vocabulary the church will still be using at Nicaea eight centuries later.
- Further afield
- Rome throws out its kings and becomes a republic. In India and China this is the age of the Buddha's early followers and of Confucian teaching taking hold. More of what the world still thinks with was invented in this era than in almost any other.