Daniel

Third: The Seventy Weeks

During the first year of Darius, son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was king of Chaldea, the following occurred.

I, Daniel, reflected on the number of years, according to the scriptures, before Jerusalem would be left in ruins. The Lord told the prophet Jeremiah about seventy years.

I turned to the Lord God and begged Him, praying and fasting. I did penance, wore sackcloth, and sat on a pile of ashes.

I prayed to the Lord, my God, and made this confession: “Lord God, great and to be feared, you keep your Covenant and love for those who love you and observe your commandments.

We have sinned; we have not been just; we have been rebels, and have turned away from your commandments and laws.

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.

Lord, justice is yours; but ours is a face full of shame, as it remains to this day—we, the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the whole of Israel, both near and far, in all the lands where you have scattered us because of the infidelity we committed against you.

Ours is the shame, O Lord, for we, our kings, princes, and ancestors have sinned against you.

We hope for pardon and mercy from the Lord, our God, because we have rebelled against him.

We have not listened to the voice of the Lord, our God, nor followed the laws he gave us through his servants, the prophets.

All Israel has broken your law and turned away from it instead of listening to your voice. Therefore, the curse and the threats written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, have come upon us. Because we have sinned against him.

He has carried out the threats he pronounced against us and those who govern us. He has brought a terrible calamity upon us. No, nothing could be worse than what has come upon Jerusalem.

All these disasters have struck us with fear, as it was written in the law of Moses; but we have not tried to calm the anger of the Lord, our God. We have not turned away from our sins, nor learned to listen to your truth.

The Lord fulfilled his threat and brought this calamity upon us, for the Lord, our God, is just in all his works, while we have not obeyed his voice.

And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt by your mighty hand and gained renown to this day; we have sinned; we have been unfaithful.

Lord, in keeping with your kindness, turn away your anger and wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the wickedness of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people are the laughingstock of everyone around us.

So now, our God, listen to the prayer and plea of your servant and, for your own sake, let your face shine upon your desolate Sanctuary.

My God, incline your ear and listen. Open your eyes and see how the city lies in ruins, the city upon which your name has been pronounced. We do not rely on our good deeds, but we pour out our plea before you, trusting in your great mercy.

Listen, Lord! Forgive us, Lord! Pay attention to us! Act, my God, and don’t delay, for your own sake, since your city and your people are called by your name.

At the hour of the evening sacrifice, I was still speaking, confessing my sins and those of Israel, my people, and begging the Lord my God, on behalf of his holy mountain.

At that moment, Gabriel, whom I had seen at the start of the vision, approached me flying,

and he said to me, “Daniel, I have come now to help you understand.

As you were praying, a word was spoken, and I have come to teach it to you because God loves you. Pay attention to this word and understand the vision:

Seventy weeks are appointed for your people and your holy city —to end transgression, to put sin under control, to erase the offense, and to bring everlasting justice— so that the visions and prophecies will be fulfilled and the Holy of Holies will be anointed.

Understand this: From the time the order to rebuild Jerusalem is given, until an anointed leader comes, there will be seven weeks. Then, in sixty-two weeks, the walls and squares will be rebuilt, but during a difficult time.

After the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one will be cut off; the city and the temple will be destroyed by the people of a king who will come. They will be carried away, as if by a flood. Until the end, there will be wars and disasters that God has decreed.

He will impose his law on most of the people for a week. By mid-week, he will stop the sacrifices and offerings. The destroyer will place the vile idol in the temple until the ruin decreed by God comes upon the destroyer.