Daniel 9:4b-10
Chapter 9
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.
Commentaries
The Visions.
In this second part of the book, the story shifts back to the time of Babylonian rule. Now, the narrator is Daniel himself, whose dreams and visions reflect a distinct apocalyptic style. Apocalypticism is a literary device often used during periods of persecution. Through symbolic and complex images, God’s intervention in history is depicted to comfort and reassure His “saints,” referring to those who remain faithful to the Lord and the Covenant amid all the suffering and challenges they face (cf. Rev 1:1-8).
Third: The Seventy Weeks.
The text starts with a reading from the Scriptures (2). Then Daniel offers a heartfelt prayer of penitence and supplication, demonstrating his sincere call for the people to renew their faithfulness to God and the covenant. The Lord responds to his “beloved” through Gabriel, who explains the Word that is read: The seventy weeks (of years) represent 490 years (70 x 7), symbolically extending the exile until the time of the temple’s desecration by Antiochus IV between 167 and 164 BC. This period is called the half-week (27) = three and a half years, which is half of 7 (perfection), symbolizing a period of great tribulation and wickedness (cf. Rev 11:9, 11).