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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.
Daniel 9:17 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Now therefore, our God, listen to the prayer of your servant, and to his petitions, and cause your face to shine on your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.
  • BSB So now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of Your servant. For Your sake, O Lord, cause Your face to shine upon Your desolate sanctuary.
  • ESV Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate.
  • NKJV Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate.
  • NASB So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his pleas, and for Your sake, Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary.
  • NLT “O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Daniel asks God to hear his prayer and let His face shine on the desolate sanctuary, for the Lord's own sake. He pleads for the restoration of God's worship for God's glory.

Overview

Daniel petitions God to look with favor on His ruined sanctuary, expressly for the Lord's sake. The desolate temple, where God met His people, is the focus of his concern. By appealing to God's own honor rather than human merit, Daniel exemplifies prayer that seeks God's glory above all, a glory fully displayed when Christ becomes the true temple and meeting place with God.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Ps 80:19Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
  • Lam 5:18Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.
  • Ps 80:3Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
  • 2 Cor 1:20For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
  • Ps 80:7Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
  • John 16:24Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
  • Num 6:23–26Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
  • Rev 21:23And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
  • Ps 80:1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
  • Dan 9:19O 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.
  • Ps 4:6There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
  • Ps 119:135Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.
  • Ps 67:1God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Daniel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Daniel 9:17YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on DanielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Daniel sees the stone cut without hands that shatters the kingdoms, and 'one like a son of man' given everlasting dominion — titles and visions Jesus claims as his own.

How Daniel 9:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.