Daniel 9:8
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. | O LORD, we are covered with shame—our kings, our leaders, and our fathers—because we have sinned against You. | O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedDaniel is praying and confessing sin after reading in Jeremiah that Jerusalem's ruin would last seventy years. In this verse he says that shame belongs to Israel and its leaders, because they sinned against God. Right after it he turns to God's mercy: "To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses" (9:9). Daniel 9:2Daniel 9:3Daniel 9:8Daniel 9:9
SpeakingDaniel, a man of Judah's royal and noble families taken to Babylon, speaking in his own voice ("I Daniel"). Daniel 9:2Daniel overview
ToThe prayer is spoken to the Lord God. Daniel 9:3Daniel 9:4Daniel 9:8
Also involvedDaniel's own people: their kings, princes and fathers, the same groups the prophets spoke to and were not heard by. With them are the men of Judah, Jerusalem, and all Israel scattered in many lands. Daniel 9:6Daniel 9:7Daniel 9:8
Daniel admits that the shame Israel bears is deserved. It falls on the whole nation, including its rulers and past generations, because they sinned. He includes himself ("to us") and does not blame others alone. Daniel 9:5Daniel 9:8Daniel 9:20Strong's H1322
Daniel prays in Babylon, where he served the kings. His prayer concerns Jerusalem and the Israelites driven into many countries. Daniel overviewDaniel 9:7Daniel 9:16
The eventsThe prayer is set in the first year of Darius the Mede, after Babylon fell, while Jerusalem still lay desolate. Daniel 9:1Daniel 9:2Daniel 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 confession clears the way for Daniel's plea. He asks God to turn his anger from Jerusalem, not because the people are righteous, but because of God's great mercies. Daniel 9:16Daniel 9:18Daniel 9:19
In the whole of ScriptureThe verse echoes earlier confessions from the time of Jerusalem's fall, such as "we have sinned against thee" (Jeremiah 14:20) and "woe unto us, that we have sinned!" (Lamentations 5:16). Scripture says the ruin came as the law of Moses had warned (9:11-13), and God answered Daniel's prayer by sending Gabriel (9:21-23). Jeremiah 14:20Lamentations 5:16Lamentations 1:18Daniel 9:11Daniel 9:13Daniel 9:21Daniel 9:23
For readersThe verse shows honest confession: owning shared sin, naming leaders and past generations, and admitting that the shame is earned. Then it turns to God, to whom "mercies and forgivenesses" belong. Daniel 9:8Daniel 9:9Daniel overview
- confusionבֹּ֫שֶׁת
The Hebrew word means "shame" or "shameful thing." So "confusion of face" does not mean bewilderment. It means the open shame of a guilty people. Strong's H1322Daniel 9:8
- faceפָּנֶה
The word means "face" and also "presence" or "person." The shame shows on the face, seen by others, as Jerusalem became "a reproach to all that are about us" (9:16). Strong's H6440LDaniel 9:16
- sinnedחָטָא
The verb means to sin, to miss the way, or to go wrong and incur guilt. Here it names the cause of the shame: the people strayed from the path God set before them by the prophets (9:10). Strong's H2398Daniel 9:10
Takeaway
Daniel does not excuse his people or himself. He says plainly that shame is theirs and righteousness is God's, and then he rests his hope on God's mercy alone. Daniel 9:7Daniel 9:8Daniel 9:9Daniel 9:18
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
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.
Original Hebrew words
| English | Hebrew | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| O Yahweh | יְהוָ֗ה | 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) |
| [the] shame of | בֹּ֣שֶׁת | BO-shet | H1322 | shameבֹּ֫שֶׁת (bo.shet) 1) shame 1a) shame 1b) shameful thing |
| the faces | הַפָּנִ֔ים | ha-pa-NIM | H6440L | face: beforeפָּנֶה (pa.neh) : before/to/front 1) face 1a) face, faces 1b) presence, person 1c) face (of seraphim or cherubim) 1d) face (of animals) 1e) face, surface (of ground) 1f) as adv of loc/temp 1f1) before and behind, toward, in front of, forward, formerly, from beforetime, before 1g) with prep 1g1) in front of, before, to the front of, in the presence of, in the face of, at the face or front of, from the presence of, from before, from before the face of |
| to kings our | לִמְלָכֵ֥ינוּ | lim-la-KHEI-nu | H4428G | kingמֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) 1) king Aramaic equivalent: me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4430) |
| to leaders our | לְשָׂרֵ֖ינוּ | le-sa-REI-nu | H8269 | rulerשַׂר (sar) 1) prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain 1a) chieftain, leader 1b) vassal, noble, official (under king) 1c) captain, general, commander (military) 1d) chief, head, overseer (of other official classes) 1e) heads, princes (of religious office) 1f) elders (of representative leaders of people) 1g) merchant-princes (of rank and dignity) 1h) patron-angel 1i) Ruler of rulers (of God) 1j) warden |
| and to ancestors our | וְלַאֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ | ve-la-'a-vo-TEI-nu | H0001G | fatherאָב (av) 1) father of an individual 2) of God as father of his people 3) head or founder of a household, group, family, or clan 4) ancestor 4a) grandfather, forefathers - of person 4b) of people 5) originator or patron of a class, profession, or art 6) of producer, generator (fig.) 7) of benevolence and protection (fig.) 8) term of respect and honour 9) ruler or chief (spec.) Also means: av (אַב "father" H0002) |
| that | אֲשֶׁ֥ר | '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 |
| we have sinned | חָטָ֖אנוּ | cha-TA-nu | H2398 | to sinחָטָא (cha.ta) 1) to sin, miss, miss the way, go wrong, incur guilt, forfeit, purify from uncleanness 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to miss 1a2) to sin, miss the goal or path of right and duty 1a3) to incur guilt, incur penalty by sin, forfeit 1b) (Piel) 1b1) to bear loss 1b2) to make a sin-offering 1b3) to purify from sin 1b4) to purify from uncleanness 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to miss the mark 1c2) to induce to sin, cause to sin 1c3) to bring into guilt or condemnation or punishment 1d) (Hithpael) 1d1) to miss oneself, lose oneself, wander from the way 1d2) to purify oneself from uncleanness |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.