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parting 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.

And 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.

As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us; yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our GOD, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our GoD is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

And now, O LORD our GOD, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten the renown as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

O LORD, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

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Now therefore, O our Gop, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the LORD'S sake.

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O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our suppli

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cations before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

O LORD, hear, O LORD, forgive; O LORD, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my GOD: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my GOD for the holy mountain of my GOD;

Yea whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee: for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision..

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Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the prince shall be seven weeks, and three-score and two weeks the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 197.3

And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be eut off, but not for himself; and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the

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sanetuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined..

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

ANNOTATIONS AND REFLECTIONS.

Daniel computing that the seventy years of Judah's captivity, foretold by Jeremiah, were now drawing to a conclusion, offered the foregoing prayer for their restoration. In reward for his piety, the LORD graciously vouchsafed to reveal to him by the Angel Gabriel, hist purposes respecting the duration of the Jewish state after the restoration. This prophecy relates to the Messiah, and will be explained in a following part of the history.

About two years after Daniel's miraculous: deliverance from the den of lions, Darius died, and Cambyses, king of Persia, being also dead, Cyrus returned, and took upon him the government of the whole Persian empire.

SECTION LXI.

THE CONTINUATION OF THE REIGN OF CYRUS-THE RETURN OF THE CAPTIVE JEWS TO JERUSALEM.

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From Ezra, Chap. i, ii.

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying.

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Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, the LORD Gop of

heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem which is in Judah.

Who is there among you of all his people? his GoD is with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel (he is the GoD) which is in Jerusalem.

And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the free-will-offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.

Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised to go up, to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem,

And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.

Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods;

Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar the prince of Judab.

All the vessels of gold, and of silver, were five thou sand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up with them of the captivity that were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem,

Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jeru

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salem and Judah, every one unto his city; which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah.

The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore.

Besides their servants and their maids, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven; and there were among them two hundred singing-men and singing-women.

Their horses were seven hundred thirty and six: their mules, two hundred forty and five; their camels, four hundred thirty and five; their asses, six thousand seven hundred and twenty.

And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of GOD to set it up in his place.

They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work, threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pounds of silver, and one hundred priests garments.

So the priests and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, dwell in their cities, and all Israel in their cities,

ANNOTATIONS AND REFLECTIONS.

The seventy years captivity was now expired, and we may conclude, that the decree of Cyrus in favour of the Jews was obtained by Daniel; who to induce the king to grant his request, it is likely had shewn him the prophecy of Isaiah, in which he is expressly named one hundred and fifty years before he was born*. It is also

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* Isaiah xliv, xlv,

probable,

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