Daniel 9:1-12 Meaning: When Scripture Leads to Prayer
1In 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—
2in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years about which Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah the prophet for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years.
3I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and petitions, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
4I prayed to Yahweh 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,
5we have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from your precepts and from your ordinances.
6We 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.
7“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.
8Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.
9To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him.
10We haven’t obeyed Yahweh our God’s voice, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
11Yes, 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.
12He 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.
1In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;
2In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
3And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
4And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
5We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
6Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
8O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
9To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
10Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
11Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.
12And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
1In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans,
2in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years whereof the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years.
3And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
4And I prayed unto Jehovah my God, and made confession, and said, Oh, Lord, the great and dreadful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments,
5we have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from thy precepts and from thine ordinances;
6neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, that spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
8O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
9To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness; for we have rebelled against him;
10neither have we obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
11Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even turning aside, that they should not obey thy voice: therefore hath the curse been poured out upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God; for we have sinned against him.
12And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil; for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
1In the first year of Darius, son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who hath been made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans,
2in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, have understood by books the number of the years, (in that a word of Jehovah hath been unto Jeremiah the prophet,) concerning the fulfilling of the wastes of Jerusalem--seventy years;
3and I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.
4And I pray to Jehovah my God, and confess, and say: `I beseech Thee, O Lord God, the great and the fearful, keeping the covenant and the kindness to those loving Him, and to those keeping His commands;
5we have sinned, and done perversely, and done wickedly, and rebelled, to turn aside from Thy commands, and from Thy judgments:
6and we have not hearkened unto Thy servants, the prophets, who have spoken in Thy name unto our kings, our heads, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7`To Thee, O Lord, is the righteousness, and to us the shame of face, as at this day, to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, who are near, and who are far off, in all the lands whither Thou hast driven them, in their trespass that they have trespassed against Thee.
8`O Lord, to us is the shame of face, to our kings, to our heads, and to our fathers, in that we have sinned against Thee.
9`To the Lord our God are the mercies and the forgivenesses, for we have rebelled against Him,
10and have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah our God, to walk in His laws, that He hath set before us by the hand of His servants the prophets;
11and all Israel have transgressed Thy law, to turn aside so as not to hearken to Thy voice; and poured on us is the execration, and the oath, that is written in the law of Moses, servant of God, because we have sinned against Him.
12`And He confirmeth His words that He hath spoken against us, and against our judges who have judged us, to bring in upon us great evil, in that it hath not been done under the whole heavens as it hath been done in Jerusalem,
1In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans,
2in the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood by the books that the number of the years, whereof the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishment of the desolations of Jerusalem, was seventy years.
3And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes;
4and I prayed unto Jehovah my God, and made my confession, and said, Alas Lord! the great and terrible God, keeping covenant and loving-kindness with them that love him, and that keep his commandments:
5we have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from thy commandments and from thine ordinances.
6And we have not hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, who spoke in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7Thine, O Lord, is the righteousness, but unto us confusion of face, as at this day, to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, in all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their unfaithfulness in which they have been unfaithful against thee.
8O Lord, unto us is confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
9With the Lord our God are mercies and pardons, for we have rebelled against him;
10and we have not hearkened unto the voice of Jehovah our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us through his servants the prophets.
11And all Israel have transgressed thy law, even turning aside so as not to listen unto thy voice. And the curse hath been poured out upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God: for we have sinned against him.
12And he hath performed his words, which he spoke against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil; so that there hath not been done under the whole heaven as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
Meaning in one sentence
When Daniel understood Jeremiah's prophecy, he set his face to seek God with prayer and confession. Discover the meaning of Daniel 9:1-12.
Context
Daniel was an old man in exile when Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians. In the first year of Darius the Mede, he was reading the scrolls, specifically the words of Jeremiah. He saw that the seventy years of Jerusalem’s desolation, which Jeremiah had prophesied, were nearly complete. Far from sitting back to wait, Daniel set his face toward the Lord. He prayed with fasting and sackcloth, confessing not just his own sins but the sins of the whole nation. This passage captures the heart of that prayer: a full acknowledgment of God’s righteousness and of the people’s shame, and a trusting reach for the compassion that belongs to God alone.
Key Words
When Daniel says he set his face to seek God, the Hebrew carries a sense of determined intention. He turned his whole being toward the Lord, not a casual glance but a fixed gaze. That phrase teaches us something about prayer: it starts with a deliberate choice to face God, no matter what else is happening.
The word translated confession comes from the same root as giving thanks. In confessing sin, Daniel was also acknowledging the truth about God, that He is righteous, and that He alone can forgive.
Finally, the phrase mercies and forgivenesses is plural in Hebrew. It points to the abundant, overflowing nature of God’s compassion. He does not forgive grudgingly; He is rich in forgiveness. Those two truths, our shame and His mercy, are the pillars of this prayer, and they still hold up our own prayers today.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians have often read Daniel’s prayer as a pattern for approaching God. The Catholic and Orthodox traditions use it as a model in their liturgical prayers of confession, emphasizing repentance that joins personal confession with the confession of the whole community. Protestant commentators highlight how Daniel relied on Scripture itself, his prayer flows directly from reading Jeremiah’s prophecy. Many note that Daniel, though personally faithful, included himself in the confession, showing solidarity with his people. Across traditions, this prayer reminds believers that honest confession opens the door to receive God’s mercy.
A common misunderstanding
Living This Out
This passage asks something of us: when we read Scripture and realize God is speaking, do we stop to respond? Daniel read one verse and it drove him to his knees for a long, honest prayer. This week, try reading a short Bible passage slowly. Then, instead of moving on, take what you have read and turn it into a prayer. If it is a promise, thank God and ask Him to fulfill it in your life. If it is a command that shows where you have fallen short, confess it with the same honesty Daniel used. Let the word become your words back to God.
Main takeaway: When God’s word reveals His promises and our failures, the right response is to seek Him with prayer, confession, and trust in His mercy.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
Daniel read about God’s promise in the Bible. He believed it so much that he stopped everything to pray. He said sorry for the wrong things his people did. When you hear a Bible story, you can talk to God about it too.
For ages 9, 12
Daniel was reading Jeremiah’s prophecy that the exile would last seventy years. He realized that time was almost up, but he did not just wait. He prayed seriously, with fasting, sackcloth, and a long list of ways his people had sinned. He even included himself in the confession, even though he was faithful. Daniel shows us that knowing God’s promises should lead to action, not passivity. This week, pick a verse that stands out to you and spend five minutes turning it into a prayer.
Questions People Ask
What is the significance of Darius the Mede in Daniel 9?
Darius the Mede was the ruler who conquered Babylon, fulfilling Jeremiah’s prophecy that Babylon would fall. His name sets the historical context: the exile was ending, just as Jeremiah had said. Daniel dates his prayer to Darius’s first year to show that God’s timing was precise.
Which prophecy of Jeremiah was Daniel reading?
Daniel was reading Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10, where God said Jerusalem would lie desolate for seventy years. Daniel understood that this period was nearly complete, which prompted his prayer.
Why did Daniel confess sins he did not personally commit?
Daniel identified himself with the whole nation of Israel. He saw the exile as a corporate punishment for the people’s sins, not just individual ones. By saying 'we have sinned,' he stood in solidarity with his people, a pattern that later prophets and apostles would also follow.
What is the 'curse and the oath' mentioned in Daniel 9:11?
The curse and oath refer to the covenant sanctions written in the law of Moses, the punishments God promised if Israel disobeyed. Daniel acknowledges that these curses have fallen on the people because they broke the covenant. This shows that God’s warnings are as true as His promises.
For pastors & researchers
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