Discovery BoxDaniel 9:11-19 
Context9:11 “All Israel has broken 1 your law and turned away by not obeying you. 2 Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened 3 in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you. 4 9:12 He has carried out his threats 5 against us and our rulers 6 who were over 7 us by bringing great calamity on us – what has happened to Jerusalem has never been equaled under all heaven! 9:13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, so all this calamity has come on us. Still we have not tried to pacify 8 the LORD our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom 9 from your reliable moral standards. 10 9:14 The LORD was mindful of the calamity, and he brought it on us. For the LORD our God is just 11 in all he has done, 12 and we have not obeyed him. 13
9:15 “Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with great power 14 and made a name for yourself that is remembered to this day – we have sinned and behaved wickedly. 9:16 O Lord, according to all your justice, 15 please turn your raging anger 16 away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. For due to our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people are mocked by all our neighbors.
9:17 “So now, our God, accept 17 the prayer and requests of your servant, and show favor to 18 your devastated sanctuary for your own sake. 19 9:18 Listen attentively, 20 my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins 21 and the city called by your name. 22 For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you, 23 but because your compassion is abundant. 9:19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, pay attention, and act! Don’t delay, for your own sake, O my God! For your city and your people are called by your name.” 24
1 tn Or “transgressed.” The Hebrew verb has the primary sense of crossing a boundary, in this case, God’s law.
2 tn Heb “by not paying attention to your voice.”
3 tn Heb “the curse and the oath which is written.” The term “curse” refers here to the judgments threatened in the Mosaic law (see Deut 28) for rebellion. The expression “the curse and the oath” is probably a hendiadys (cf. Num 5:21; Neh 10:29) referring to the fact that the covenant with its threatened judgments was ratified by solemn oath and made legally binding upon the covenant community.
4 tn Heb “him.”
5 tn Heb “he has fulfilled his word(s) which he spoke.”
6 tn Heb “our judges.”
7 tn Heb “who judged.”
8 tn Heb “we have not pacified the face of.”
9 tn Or “by gaining insight.”
10 tn Heb “by your truth.” The Hebrew term does not refer here to abstract truth, however, but to the reliable moral guidance found in the covenant law. See vv 10-11.
11 tn Or “righteous.”
12 tn Heb “in all his deeds which he has done.”
13 tn Heb “we have not listened to his voice.”
14 tn Heb “with a powerful hand.”
15 tn Or “righteousness.”
16 tn Heb “your anger and your rage.” The synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of God’s anger. This is best expressed in English by making one of the terms adjectival (cf. NLT “your furious anger”; CEV “terribly angry”).
17 tn Heb “hear.” Here the verb refers to hearing favorably, accepting the prayer and responding positively.
18 tn Heb “let your face shine.” This idiom pictures God smiling in favor. See Pss 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19.
19 tn Heb “for the sake of my Lord.” Theodotion has “for your sake.” Cf. v. 19.
20 tn Heb “turn your ear.”
21 tn Heb “desolations.” The term refers here to the ruined condition of Judah’s towns.
22 tn Heb “over which your name is called.” Cf. v. 19. This expression implies that God is the owner of his city, Jerusalem. Note the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1; Amos 9:12.
23 tn Heb “praying our supplications before you.”
24 tn Heb “for your name is called over your city and your people.” See the note on this expression in v 18.
