Daniel’s Prayer for the People

9 In the first year ^(A)of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— ² in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through ^(B)Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

^3 (C)Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ⁴ And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O ^(D)Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, ^5 (E)we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. ^6 (F)Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. ⁷ O Lord, ^(G)righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.

⁸ “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. ^9 (H)To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. ¹⁰ We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. ¹¹ Yes, ^(I)all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the ^(J)Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. ¹² And He has ^(K)confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; ^(L)for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.

^13 (M)“As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; ^(N)yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord has ^(O)kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for ^(P)the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. ¹⁵ And now, O Lord our God, ^(Q)who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself ^(R)a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!

¹⁶ “O Lord, ^(S)according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, ^(T)Your holy mountain; because for our sins, ^(U)and for the iniquities of our fathers, ^(V)Jerusalem and Your people ^(W)are a reproach to all those around us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, ^(X)and ^(Y)for the Lord’s sake ^[a]cause Your face to shine on ^[b]Your sanctuary, ^(Z)which is desolate. ^18 (AA)O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes ^(AB)and see our desolations, and the city ^(AC)which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

The Seventy-Weeks Prophecy

²⁰ Now while I was speaking, 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 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man ^(AD)Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, ^[c]being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. ²² And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. ²³ At the beginning of your supplications the ^[d]command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly ^(AE)beloved; therefore ^(AF)consider the matter, and understand the vision:

Vision of the Glorious Man

10 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, whose ^(AS)name was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, ^[m]but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision. ² In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. ³ I ate no ^[n]pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

⁴ Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the ^[o]Tigris, ⁵ I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in ^(AT)linen, whose waist was ^(AU)girded with gold of Uphaz! ⁶ His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, ^(AV)and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.

⁷ And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. ⁸ Therefore I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my ^[p]vigor was turned to ^[q]frailty in me, and I retained no strength. ⁹ Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.

Prophecies Concerning Persia and Greece

^10 (AW)Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands. ¹¹ And he said to me, “O Daniel, ^(AX)man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling.

¹² Then he said to me, ^(AY)“Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, ^(AZ)your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. ^13 (BA)But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, ^(BB)Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people ^(BC)in the latter days, ^(BD)for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”

¹⁵ When he had spoken such words to me, ^(BE)I ^[r]turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. ¹⁶ And suddenly, ^(BF)one having the likeness of the ^[s]sons of men ^(BG)touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, “My lord, because of the vision ^(BH)my sorrows have ^[t]overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength. ¹⁷ For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.”

¹⁸ Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. ^19 (BI)And he said, “O man greatly beloved, ^(BJ)fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!”

So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

²⁰ Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight ^(BK)with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come. ²¹ But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, ^(BL)except Michael your prince.

Prayer for Relief from Contempt

A Song of Ascents.

Four Fishermen Called as Disciples^(A)

5 So ^(B)it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to ^(C)hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, ² and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. ³ Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He ^(D)sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

⁴ When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ^(E)“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

⁵ But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught ^(F)nothing; nevertheless ^(G)at Your word I will let down the net.” ⁶ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. ⁷ So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ^(H)“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

⁹ For he and all who were with him were ^(I)astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; ¹⁰ and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. ^(J)From now on you will catch men.” ¹¹ So when they had brought their boats to land, ^(K)they ^[a]forsook all and followed Him.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper^(L)

^12 (M)And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of ^(N)leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and ^[b]implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

¹³ Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” ^(O)Immediately the leprosy left him. ^14 (P)And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, ^(Q)just as Moses commanded.”

¹⁵ However, ^(R)the report went around concerning Him all the more; and ^(S)great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. ^16 (T)So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and ^(U)prayed.

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic^(V)

¹⁷ Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present ^[c]to heal them. ^18 (W)Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. ¹⁹ And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst ^(X)before Jesus.

²⁰ When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

^21 (Y)And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? ^(Z)Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

²² But when Jesus ^(AA)perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? ²⁴ But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, ^(AB)“I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

²⁵ Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, ^(AC)glorifying God. ²⁶ And they were all amazed, and they ^(AD)glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”

Matthew the Tax Collector^(AE)

^27 (AF)After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ^(AG)“Follow Me.” ²⁸ So he left all, rose up, and ^(AH)followed Him.

^29 (AI)Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And ^(AJ)there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. ^30 [d]And their scribes and the Pharisees ^[e]complained against His disciples, saying, ^(AK)“Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ^32 (AL)I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting^(AM)

³³ Then they said to Him, ^(AN)“Why^[f] do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?”

³⁴ And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the ^(AO)bridegroom is with them? ³⁵ But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.”

^36 (AP)Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one ^[g]puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. ³⁷ And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. ³⁸ But new wine must be put into new wineskins, ^[h]and both are preserved. ³⁹ And no one, having drunk old wine, ^[i]immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is ^[j]better.’ ”