9"Darius, son of Ahasuerus, born a Mede, became king over the land of Babylon.H259H8141H1867H1121H325H2233H4074H4427H4438H3778 2In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, was meditating on the Scriptures that gave, according to the Word of GOD to the prophet Jeremiah, the number of years that Jerusalem had to lie in ruins, namely, seventy.H259H8141H4427H1840H995H5612H4557H8141H1697H3068H3414H5030H4390H7657H8141H2723H3389 3I turned to the Master God, asking for an answer—praying earnestly, fasting from meals, wearing rough penitential burlap, and kneeling in the ashes.H5414H6440H136H430H1245H8605H8469H6685H8242H665 4I poured out my heart, baring my soul to GOD, my God: "'O Master, great and august God. You never waver in your covenant commitment, never give up on those who love you and do what you say.H6419H3068H430H3034H559H577H136H1419H3372H410H8104H1285H2617H157H8104H4687 5Yet we have sinned in every way imaginable. We've done evil things, rebelled, dodged and taken detours around your clearly marked paths.H2398H5753H7561H4775H5493H4687H4941 6We've turned a deaf ear to your servants the prophets, who preached your Word to our kings and leaders, our parents, and all the people in the land.H8085H5650H5030H1696H8034H4428H8269H1H5971H776 7You have done everything right, Master, but all we have to show for our lives is guilt and shame, the whole lot of us—people of Judah, citizens of Jerusalem, Israel at home and Israel in exile in all the places we've been banished to because of our betrayal of you.H136H6666H1322H6440H3117H376H3063H3427H3389H3478H7138H7350H776H5080H4604H4603 8Oh yes, GOD, we've been exposed in our shame, all of us—our kings, leaders, parents—before the whole world. And deservedly so, because of our sin.H136H1322H6440H4428H8269H1H2398 9"'Compassion is our only hope, the compassion of you, the Master, our God, since in our rebellion we've forfeited our rights.H136H430H7356H5547H4775 10We paid no attention to you when you told us how to live, the clear teaching that came through your servants the prophets.H8085H6963H3068H430H3212H8451H5414H6440H3027H5650H5030 11All of us in Israel ignored what you said. We defied your instructions and did what we pleased. And now we're paying for it: The solemn curse written out plainly in the revelation to God's servant Moses is now doing its work among us, the wages of our sin against you.H3478H5674H8451H5493H8085H6963H423H5413H7621H3789H8451H4872H5650H430H2398 12You did to us and our rulers what you said you would do: You brought this catastrophic disaster on us, the worst disaster on record—and in Jerusalem!H6965H1697H1696H8199H8199H935H1419H7451H8064H6213H6213H3389 13"'Just as written in God's revelation to Moses, the catastrophe was total. Nothing was held back. We kept at our sinning, never giving you a second thought, oblivious to your clear warning,H3789H8451H4872H7451H935H2470H6440H3068H430H7725H5771H7919H571 14and so you had no choice but to let the disaster loose on us in full force. You, our GOD, had a perfect right to do this since we persistently and defiantly ignored you.H3068H8245H7451H935H3068H430H6662H4639H6213H8085H6963 15"'Master, you are our God, for you delivered your people from the land of Egypt in a show of power—people are still talking about it! We confess that we have sinned, that we have lived bad lives.H136H430H3318H5971H3318H776H4714H2389H3027H6213H8034H3117H2398H7561 16Following the lines of what you have always done in setting things right, setting people right, please stop being so angry with Jerusalem, your very own city, your holy mountain. We know it's our fault that this has happened, all because of our sins and our parents' sins, and now we're an embarrassment to everyone around us. We're a blot on the neighborhood.H136H6666H639H2534H7725H5892H3389H6944H2022H2399H5771H1H3389H5971H2781H5439 17So listen, God, to this determined prayer of your servant. Have mercy on your ruined Sanctuary. Act out of who you are, not out of what we are.H430H8085H8605H5650H8469H6440H215H4720H8076H136 18"'Turn your ears our way, God, and listen. Open your eyes and take a long look at our ruined city, this city named after you. We know that we don't deserve a hearing from you. Our appeal is to your compassion. This prayer is our last and only hope:H430H5186H241H8085H6491H5869H7200H8074H5892H7121H8034H5307H8469H6440H6666H7227H7356 19"'Master, listen to us! Master, forgive us! Master, look at us and do something! Master, don't put us off! Your city and your people are named after you: You have a stake in us!'H136H8085H136H5545H136H7181H6213H309H408H430H5892H5971H7121H8034 20"While I was pouring out my heart, baring my sins and the sins of my people Israel, praying my life out before my God, interceding for the holy mountain of my God—H1696H6419H3034H2403H2403H5971H3478H5307H8467H6440H3068H430H6944H2022H430 21while I was absorbed in this praying, the humanlike Gabriel, the one I had seen in an earlier vision, approached me, flying in like a bird about the time of evening worship.H1696H8605H376H1403H7200H2377H8462H3286H3288H5060H6256H6153H4503 22"He stood before me and said, 'Daniel, I have come to make things plain to you.H995H1696H559H1840H3318H7919H998 23You had no sooner started your prayer when the answer was given. And now I'm here to deliver the answer to you. You are much loved! So listen carefully to the answer, the plain meaning of what is revealed:H8462H8469H1697H3318H935H5046H2532H995H1697H995H4758 24"'Seventy sevens are set for your people and for your holy city to throttle rebellion, stop sin, wipe out crime, set things right forever, confirm what the prophet saw, and anoint The Holy of Holies.H7657H7620H2852H5971H6944H5892H3607H6588H8552H2856H2403H3722H5771H935H5769H6664H2856H2377H5030H4886H6944H6944 25"'Here is what you must understand: From the time the word goes out to rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Anointed Leader, there will be seven sevens. The rebuilding will take sixty-two sevens, including building streets and digging a moat. Those will be rough times.H3045H7919H4161H1697H7725H1129H3389H4899H5057H7651H7620H8346H8147H7620H7339H1129H7725H2742H6695H6256 26After the sixty-two sevens, the Anointed Leader will be killed—the end of him. The city and Sanctuary will be laid in ruins by the army of the newly arriving leader. The end will come in a rush, like a flood. War will rage right up to the end, desolation the order of the day.H310H8346H8147H7620H4899H3772H5971H5057H935H7843H5892H6944H7093H7858H7093H4421H8074H2782 27"'Then for one seven, he will forge many and strong alliances, but halfway through the seven he will banish worship and prayers. At the place of worship, a desecrating obscenity will be set up and remain until finally the desecrator himself is decisively destroyed.'"H1396H1285H7227H259H7620H2677H7620H2077H4503H7673H3671H8251H8074H3617H2782H5413H8074
