Daniel 9:2
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. | in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the sacred books, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. | in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years whereof the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedIn the first year of Darius the Mede, Daniel read in Jeremiah's writings that God had set seventy years for Jerusalem to lie in ruins. Understanding this moved him to fast, confess Israel's sins, and plead for the city (9:3-19). God answered by sending Gabriel with the message of the seventy weeks (9:21-24). Daniel 9:1Daniel 9:2Daniel 9:3Daniel 9:19Daniel 9:21Daniel 9:24
SpeakingDaniel speaks in the first person ("I Daniel"). He was a young man of Judah's royal family and nobles who was taken to Babylon. Daniel 9:2Daniel overview
ToThe book is written for God's people in exile and after it. Here Daniel tells them what he learned and how he responded. Daniel overview
Also involvedJerusalem and the people of Judah, whose city lay desolate. Daniel prays for them: "thy city and thy people are called by thy name." Daniel 9:2Daniel 9:16Daniel 9:19
Daniel studied the scrolls of Jeremiah and worked out the number of years God had named for Jerusalem's desolation: seventy. Jeremiah had foretold that the land would serve Babylon seventy years, and that after that God would bring his people back. Daniel 9:2Jeremiah 25:11Jeremiah 25:12Jeremiah 29:10
Daniel was in Babylon, serving under the new Median and Persian rulers. His thoughts and prayer were for Jerusalem, which lay in ruins far away. Daniel overviewDaniel 9:2Daniel 9:17Jerusalem
The eventsThe first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, a Mede who was made king over the Chaldeans' realm. This was after Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians in one night. Daniel 9:1Daniel overview
WrittenTraditional: written by Daniel in the 500s BC. Scholarly: many critical scholars date the book's final form to about 167-164 BC, while others hold to the 500s BC date. Daniel overview
HereThe verse explains what set off Daniel's great prayer. After he understood God's word to Jeremiah, he turned to God "by prayer and supplications, with fasting." Daniel 9:2Daniel 9:3
In the whole of ScriptureGod keeps his word. Scripture records that the land lay desolate "to fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah" for seventy years. Daniel shows the book's theme of prayer, confession, and trust in God's promises. 2 Chronicles 36:21Zechariah 7:5Daniel overview
For readersDaniel read Scripture closely and acted on it. Peter likewise says believers "do well" to take heed to the word of prophecy, because it came from God and not from man. Daniel 9:22 Peter 1:192 Peter 1:21
- understoodבִּין
The word means to discern, consider, or observe with the mind. It shows Daniel gave careful study to Jeremiah's words. The same idea returns when Gabriel comes to give him "skill and understanding." Strong's H0995Daniel 9:22Daniel 9:23
- accomplishמָלֵא
The root means to fill, and also to fulfil or complete. The seventy years were a set span that God would bring to completion, as Jeremiah said: "when seventy years are accomplished." Strong's H4390Jeremiah 25:12Jeremiah 29:10
- desolationsחׇרְבָּה
The word means a place laid waste, a ruin. It names Jerusalem's actual state, which Daniel later asks God to look on: "behold our desolations." Strong's H2723Daniel 9:18Jeremiah 25:11
Takeaway
Understanding God's promise through Jeremiah did not make Daniel sit back. It drove him to confession and earnest prayer. God's sure word is a reason to seek him. Daniel 9:2Daniel 9:3Daniel 9:4Daniel 9:19
Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.
The world around the text
Behind this verse
- Jerusalem: Seventy years of desolation
- Daniel read in Jeremiah that God would "accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem," and that reading moved him to pray. Daniel 9:2Jeremiah 25:11-12Jeremiah 29:10
About 605-536 BC. King of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC). Where Daniel lived and served for about seventy years. The capital of the Babylonian empire, on the Euphrates south of modern Baghdad, in the land the Bible calls Shinar and Chaldea.
Who ruled
- King of BabylonNebuchadnezzar605-562 BC
The king who besieged Jerusalem, carried Daniel and the temple vessels to Babylon, and later destroyed the city and temple. His own building inscriptions boast of the Babylon he built. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 24:12 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 25:1Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- Last king of Babylon, and his son who ruled in his placeNabonidus and Belshazzar556-539 BC
Nabonidus spent about ten years at the oasis of Tema in Arabia and left his son Belshazzar to rule in Babylon. That is why Belshazzar could only offer Daniel the place of "third ruler in the kingdom": he was himself second. Daniel 5:1Daniel 5:7Daniel 5:29Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Verse Account of Nabonidus
- Received the kingdom after Babylon fellDarius the MedianFrom 539 BC
Daniel says he "took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old" and set 120 princes over it. Records outside the Bible do not name him; he has been identified with Gubaru, the governor Cyrus set over Babylon, or with Cyrus himself. Daniel 5:31Daniel 6:1Daniel 9:1Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)
- King of PersiaCyrus559-530 BC
He united the Medes and Persians, took Babylon in 539 BC, and let the exiles go home to rebuild the temple, as Isaiah had named him beforehand. Daniel 1:21Daniel 6:28Daniel 10:1Ezra 1:1-4Isaiah 44:28-45:1Cyrus Cylinder
- King of JudahJehoiakim609-598 BC
Judah's king when Daniel was taken. Jeremiah warned him and his people that the land would serve Babylon seventy years. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 23:36-24:6Jeremiah 25:1-11
What was happening, 612 BC to 167 BC
- 612 BCWarNineveh falls
Babylon and the Medes destroyed Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, as Nahum and Zephaniah had foretold. Babylon became the great power of the region. Nahum 3:7Zephaniah 2:13Fall of Nineveh Chronicle (ABC 3)
- 605 BCWarBattle of Carchemish
Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Necho of Egypt at Carchemish on the Euphrates, in Jehoiakim's fourth year. The same year he came against Jerusalem and took the first captives, Daniel among them. Jeremiah 46:2Daniel 1:1-4Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 597 BCWarJerusalem surrenders
Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin, his nobles and craftsmen to Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel went into exile with them. 2 Kings 24:10-17Ezekiel 1:2Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 586 BCWarJerusalem and the temple destroyed
Babylon's army burned the temple and the city and broke down its walls. Daniel later prays over "the desolations of Jerusalem" and asks God to shine on his "sanctuary that is desolate." 2 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 52:12-14Daniel 9:2Daniel 9:17
- c. 575 BCBuildingBabylon rebuilt in splendor
Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon with great walls, palaces and the blue-glazed Ishtar Gate, and his inscriptions praise his own work. Compare his boast: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built?" Daniel 4:30Nebuchadnezzar's East India House InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 1.178-183
- 562 BCRulersNebuchadnezzar dies
His son Evil-merodach became king and released Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. 2 Kings 25:27-30Jeremiah 52:31-34
- c. 553-543 BCRulersNabonidus leaves Babylon to Belshazzar
King Nabonidus stayed at Tema in Arabia for about ten years, and the yearly New Year festival in Babylon was not held. Belshazzar governed in Babylon. Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Daniel 5:1Daniel 7:1
- 550 BCWarCyrus unites the Medes and Persians
Cyrus of Persia defeated Astyages king of the Medes, joining the two peoples in one kingdom. Daniel's vision names the ram's two horns as "the kings of Media and Persia," the higher coming up last. Daniel 8:3Daniel 8:20Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.127-130
- October 539 BCWarBabylon falls to Cyrus
Cyrus's army entered Babylon without a long siege. Herodotus says the people were feasting when the city was taken. Daniel records that "in that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain." Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.191Cyrus Cylinder
- 538 BCGod's peopleCyrus lets the exiles return
In his first year over Babylon, Cyrus proclaimed that the Jews could go back and build the LORD's house in Jerusalem. Daniel "continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus." Ezra 1:1-42 Chronicles 36:22-23Daniel 1:21Cyrus Cylinder
- c. 536 BCGod's peopleThe temple's foundation is laid
The returned exiles rebuilt the altar and laid the foundation of the temple. In the third year of Cyrus, Daniel was still in the east, mourning and praying. Ezra 3:1-11Daniel 10:1-3
- 334-331 BCWarAlexander the Great conquers Persia
Alexander of Macedon crossed into Asia and overthrew the Persian empire within four years. Daniel 8:21 names the rough goat as "the king of Grecia" and its great horn as "the first king." Daniel 8:5-8Daniel 8:21Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 1-3
- 323-301 BCWarAlexander's empire is divided
Alexander died young, and after twenty years of war his generals divided his empire, chiefly into four kingdoms. Daniel 8:22 says "four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." Daniel 8:8Daniel 8:22Daniel 11:4Diodorus Siculus, Library 18-20Plutarch, Demetrius 28-30
- 167 BCWarAntiochus IV defiles the temple
The Greek king Antiochus IV banned Jewish worship and set up a pagan altar on the altar of burnt offering. 1 Maccabees calls it "the abomination of desolation." Two centuries later Jesus spoke of "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" as still to come. 1 Maccabees 1:54-59Josephus, Antiquities 12.5.4Matthew 24:15
The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records of these years (the Babylonian Chronicles, the Cyrus Cylinder, Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Diodorus, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.
Where
- Jerusalem settlementMapAbout this place
Locations from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Some ancient sites are uncertain.
Original Hebrew words
| English | Hebrew | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in year | בִּשְׁנַ֤ת | bish-NAT | H8141 | yearשְׁנָה (she.nah) year Aramaic of sha.neh (שָׁנָה "year" H8141) |
| one | אַחַת֙ | 'a-CHAT | H0259 | oneאֶחָד (e.chad) 1) one (number) 1a) one (number) 1b) each, every 1c) a certain 1d) an (indefinite article) 1e) only, once, once for all 1f) one...another, the one...the other, one after another, one by one 1g) first 1h) eleven (in combination), eleventh (ordinal) |
| of reigning his | לְמָלְכ֔וֹ | le-ma-le-KHO | H4427A | to reignמָלַךְ (ma.lakh) 1) to be or become king or queen, reign 1a) (Qal) to be or become king or queen, reign 1b) (Hiphil) to make one king or queen, cause to reign 1c) (Hophal) to be made king or queen |
| I | אֲנִי֙ | 'a-NI | H0589 | meאֲנָא (a.na) I (first pers. sing. -usually used for emphasis) Aramaic of a.ni (אֲנִי, אָֽנֹכִ֫י "I" H0589) |
| Daniel | דָּֽנִיֵּ֔אל | da-ni-YEL | H1840G | Belteshazzarבֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר (be.le.te.shats.tsar) A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezk.14.14; also called Belteshazzar at Dan.1.7; 2.26; 4.8,9,18,19; 5.12; 10.1; Another name of da.niy.yel (דָּנִיֵּאל, דָּנִאֵל "Daniel" H1840G) § Belteshazzar = "lord of the straitened's treasure" … |
| I observed | בִּינֹ֖תִי | bi-NO-ti | H0995 | to understandבִּין (bin) 1) to discern, understand, consider 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to perceive, discern 1a2) to understand, know (with the mind) 1a3) to observe, mark, give heed to, distinguish, consider 1a4) to have discernment, insight, understanding 1b) (Niphal) to be discerning, intelligent, discreet, have understanding 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to understand 1c2) to cause to understand, give understanding, teach 1d) (Hithpolel) to show oneself discerning or attentive, consider diligently 1e) (Polel) to teach, instruct 2) (TWOT) prudent, regard |
| in the scrolls | בַּסְּפָרִ֑ים | ba-se-fa-RIM | H5612H | No entry |
| [the] number of | מִסְפַּ֣ר | mis-PAR | H4557 | numberמִסְפָּר (mis.par) 1) number, tale 1a) number 1a1) number 1a2) innumerable (with negative) 1a3) few, numerable (alone) 1a4) by count, in number, according to number (with prep) 1b) recounting, relation |
| the years | הַשָּׁנִ֗ים | ha-sha-NIM | H8141 | yearשְׁנָה (she.nah) year Aramaic of sha.neh (שָׁנָה "year" H8141) |
| which | אֲשֶׁ֨ר | 'a-SHER | H0834A | whichאֲשֶׁר (a.sher) A: 1) (relative part.) 1a) which, who 1b) that which 2) (conj) 2a) that (in obj clause) 2b) when 2c) since 2d) as 2e) conditional if B: Beth+ 1) in (that) which 2) (adv) 2a) where 3) (conj) 3a) in that, inasmuch as 3b) on account of C: Mem+ 1) from (or than) that which 2) from (the place) where 3) from (the fact) that, since D: Kaph+ 1) (conj.), according as, as, when 1a) according to that which, according as, as 1b) with a causal force: in so far as, since 1c) with a temporal force: when |
| it came | הָיָ֤ה | ha-YAH | H1961 | to beהָיָה (ha.yah) 1) to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out 1a) (Qal) 1a1) --- 1a1a) to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come to pass 1a1b) to come about, come to pass 1a2) to come into being, become 1a2a) to arise, appear, come 1a2b) to become 1a2b1) to become 1a2b2) to become like 1a2b3) to be instituted, be established 1a3) to be 1a3a) to exist, be in existence 1a3b) to abide, remain, continue (with word of place or time) 1a3c) to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated (with word of locality) 1a3d) to accompany, be with 1b) (Niphal) … |
| [the] word of | דְבַר־ | de-var- | H1697G | wordדָּבָר (da.var) : word/speech/command 1) speech, word, speaking, thing 1a) speech 1b) saying, utterance 1c) word, words 1d) business, occupation, acts, matter, case, something, manner (by extension) |
| Yahweh | יְהוָה֙ | YAH-weh | H3068G | Lordאֲדֹנָי (a.do.nai) Lord - a title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G) |
| to | אֶל־ | 'el- | H0413 | to(wards)אֶל (el) 1) to, toward, unto (of motion) 2) into (limit is actually entered) 2a) in among 3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion) 4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character) 5) in addition to, to 6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of 7) according to (rule or standard) 8) at, by, against (of one's presence) 9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to) |
| Jeremiah | יִרְמִיָ֣ה | yir-mi-YAH | H3414L | Jeremiahיִרְמְיָ֫הוּ (yir.me.yah) A prophet living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 2Ch.35.25; son of: Hilkiah (H2518M) Also named: Hieremias (Ἱερεμίας "Jeremiah" G2408) § Jeremiah = "whom Jehovah has appointed" 1) the major prophet, son of Hilkiah of the priestly family in Anathoth; author of the prophetic book bearing his name 2) a man of Libnah and father of Hamutal the wife of king Josiah 3) a Gadite who joined David at Ziklag 4) a Manassehite, one of the mighty men of valour of the Transjordanic half tribe of Manasseh 5) a Gadite and warrior of David 6) a warrior of David … |
| the prophet | הַנָּבִ֔יא | ha-na-VI' | H5030 | prophetנְבִיא (ne.vi) prophet Aramaic of na.vi (נָבִיא "prophet" H5030) |
| to complete | לְמַלֹּ֛אות | le-ma-LOT | H4390 | to fillמָלֵא (ma.le) 1) to fill, be full 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to be full 1a1a) fulness, abundance (participle) 1a1b) to be full, be accomplished, be ended 1a2) to consecrate, fill the hand 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be filled, be armed, be satisfied 1b2) to be accomplished, be ended 1c) (Piel) 1c1) to fill 1c2) to satisfy 1c3) to fulfil, accomplish, complete 1c4) to confirm 1d) (Pual) to be filled 1e) (Hithpael) to mass themselves against Aramaic equivalent: me.la (מְלָא "to fill" H4391) |
| to [the] ruins of | לְחָרְב֥וֹת | le-cha-re-VOT | H2723 | desolationחׇרְבָּה (chor.bah) a place laid waste, ruin, waste, desolation |
| Jerusalem | יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם | ye-ru-sha-LIM | H3389 | Arielאֲרִיאֵל (a.ri.el) Ariel = "lion of God" or "lioness of God" Another name of ye.ru.sha.laim (יְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵם "Jerusalem" H3389) |
| seventy | שִׁבְעִ֥ים | shiv-'IM | H7657 | seventyשִׁבְעִים (shiv.im) seventy |
| year[s] | שָׁנָֽה׃ | sha-NAH | H8141 | yearשְׁנָה (she.nah) year Aramaic of sha.neh (שָׁנָה "year" H8141) |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.