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A. C. 539.

2 And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.

3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the *Heb. the se- two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.

cond.

+ Or, none touched him in the earth.

1 Heb. a horn of sight.

t ch. xi. 4.

4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.

5 And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and + touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.

7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.

8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up * four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.

9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the u Ps. xlviii. 2. east, and toward the "pleasant land.

Ezek. xx. 6.

◊ Or, against the host.

|| Or, against.

10 And it waxed great, even § to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.

11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the * Or, from host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

him.

+ Or, the host was given over for the transgression against the daily sacrifice. Or, the numberer of sc

crets, or, the

12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.

13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto § that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgresHeb. Pal- sion || of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host

wonderful numberer.

moni.

Or, making to be trodden under foot?

desolate.

Heb. even

+ Heb justi fied.

14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred * days; then shall the sanctuary be + cleansed.

15 ¶ And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had A.C. 539. seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.

16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, * Gabriel, make this man to under- x ch. ix. 21. stand the vision.

17 So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man; for at the time of the end shall be the vision.

18 Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.

19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.

20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.

21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.

Heb. made me stand upon

my standing.

complished.

23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce coun- +Heb. are actenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. 24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

Heb. people of the holy

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25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also or, prospestand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be y broken without hand.

26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.

27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.

rity.

y 2 Mac. ix. 9.

A. C. 538.

*Or, in which he, &c.

SECTION XVIII.

Prayer of Daniel for the Restoration of Jerusalem, and Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks.

DANIEL IX 51.

1 Daniel, considering the time of the captivity, 3 maketh confession of sius, 16 and prayeth for the restoration of Jerusalem. 20 Gabriel informeth him of the seventy weeks.

1 In 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;

51 In this chapter, Daniel understanding from books, (which are supposed to have been the prophecies of Jeremiah, chapters xxv. xiii. xxix. 1,) that the appointed captivity of seventy years was now drawing towards its conclusion; intercedes with God, by prayer and supplication, for his brethren. In verse 17, we clearly find a plurality in the Godhead signified; Daniel asks for blessings on the sanctuary and the people "for the Lord's sake." And in acceptance of his petitions, while he was yet praying, the angel Gabriel appears, and communicates to the prophet a most wonderful revelation; assuring him at the same time of the restoration and rebuilding of Jerusalem. The captivity was to last seventy years; at its close, the future state of the Jews and the holy city for the space of another seventy weeks is revealed to Daniel, comprising the period "from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, till Messiah be cut off." The commencement of the whole period of seventy weeks, or 490 years, being reckoned from the seventh year of Artaxerxes (Ezra vii. 11); when the wall of their city was built, and its inhabitants restored to its ancient laws, falls upon the 457th year before the Christian era. To 457 years before the birth of Christ, add 26 years after the birth of Christ, which 26 is the number that 483 years, or 69 weeks, exceed 457 years, and we are brought to the beginning of John the Baptist's preaching of the advent of the Messiah: adding seven years, or one week, to the former, we come to the 33d year of our Lord, which was the year of Jesus Christ's death. In other words, compute 490 years, the whole seventy weeks, from the seventh of Artaxerxes; by subtracting 457 years, (the space of time between that year and the beginning of the Christian era,) from 490, there remains 33, the year of our Lord's death.-Prideaux.

In this most wonderful prediction the sufferings and atonement of Christ are, perhaps, more explicitly and clearly revealed, than in any other prophecy of the Old Testament. Seventy weeks are "determined upon" for the continuance of the Mosaical worship: at the end of this time, the prophet declares the "Most Holy" will make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in everlasting righteousness. The Messiah shall be "cut off, but not for himself,” (1 Pet. iii. 18;) that "He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease;" "by His one oblation of Himself," on the cross, the sacrifice and burnt offerings of the law were to be annulled; and, finally, that the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. This prediction, of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, was literally fulfilled, with a long train of dreadful calamities, at

2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by A. C. 538. books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would ac- z Jer. xxv. 12. complish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

3¶And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

& xxix. 10.

Neh. i. 5.

4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, Oa Lord, the great and dreadful God, a Deut. vii. 9. -keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

5 b We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and b Bar. i. 17. have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts, and from thy judgments:

6 Neither 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.

hast, &c.

7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto*Or, thou 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.

с

8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our c Bar. i. 15. kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

10 Neither 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.

11 Yea, 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 d Lev. xxvi. sinned against him.

tended with awful indications of divine vengeance, when the Romans under Titus utterly destroyed this condemned city and its miserable inhabitants.

Bishop Watson remarks, “to read these prophecies of Daniel with attention, intelligence, and an unbiassed mind, is sufficient to convert an unbeliever from Deism to Christianity." They were delivered several hundred years before the birth of Christ; they extend through many ages; and have ever been considered as the foundation of all modern history; revealing the successive rise and fall of the four great monarchies of the world; the establishment of Messiah's kingdom upon earth; his death and sufferings; and passing from earth to heaven, they terminate only in eternity.

14, &c. Deut.
xxviii. 15, &c.
& xxix. 20,
&c. & xxx. 17,
18. & xxxi.
17, &c. &
xxxii. 19, &c.

A. C. 538.

e Lev. xxvi. 14, &c. Deut. xxviii. 15.

12 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.

13 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 the face of the, understand thy truth.

Lam. ii. 17.
* Heb. in-
treated we not

&c.

+ Heb. made

thee a name.

fEx. xiv. 18.

upon thy name

14 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. 15 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 thee frenown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 ¶ 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.

17 Now therefore, O our God, 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.

18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine Heb. where- eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is is called. called by thy name: for we do not § present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

(Heb. cause to fall.

19 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.

20 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;

21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man g-ch. viii. 16. 8 Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, Heb. with being caused to fly || swiftly, touched me about the time of weariness, or, the evening oblation.

flight.

*Heb. tomake understand

thee skilful of

ing.

+ Heb. word.

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

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

of desires.

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