Daniel 9:17
in Daniel 9So 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now therefore, O our God, hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Daniel 9
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Now, therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant - In behalf of the people. He pleaded for his people and country, and earnestly entreated the Lord to be merciful. His argument is based on the confession of sin; on the character of God; on the condition of the city and temple; on the former Divine interpositions in behalf of the people; and by all these considerations, he pleads with God to have mercy upon his people and land. And cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary - Upon the temple.
This site's exposition
brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt
on Daniel 9:15-19
The appeal turns to plea, grounded in the Exodus itself, the Lord who brought his people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and gotten himself renown, asked now to act again for his own name's sake rather than for any righteousness of theirs. It rises to the fourfold cry of verse nineteen, O Lord, hear, O Lord, forgive, O Lord, hearken and do, which the older writers set beside Moses' intercession at the golden calf as one of Scripture's great pleadings for a whole nation. Daniel asks nothing on the ground of merit, we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies, the confession's own last word before the answer comes.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Verse 17. "'And show Thy face upon Thy sanctuary, which lies desolate.'" By deed fulfil that which Thou hast promised in word, for the approximate period of desolation has elapsed.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Note, The desolations of the sanctuary are the grief of all the saints, who reckon all their comforts in this world buried in the ruins of the sanctuary. Here is an importunate request to God for the restoring of the poor captive Jews to their former enjoyments again. The petition is very pressing, for God gives us leave in prayer to wrestle with him: " O Lord!
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
), and grant an answer of peace." Now what are his petitions? That God would turn away his wrath from them; that is it which all the saints dread and deprecate more than any thing: O let thy anger be turned away from thy Jerusalem, thy holy mountain!
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
): " Cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate; return in thy mercy to us, and show that thou art reconciled to us, and then all shall be well." Note, The shining of God's face upon the desolations of the sanctuary is all in all towards the repair of it; and upon that foundation it must be rebuilt.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Now therefore, O our God,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2788: “Prayer for the Church” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
A TRUE-HEARTED Believer does not live for himself. Where there is abundance of Grace and great strength of mind in the service of God, there is sure to be a spirit of unselfishness. It was so with Daniel, who was a model man in the matter of decision of character and a holy, believing walk before the Lord. That "man greatly beloved" was, in all respects, faithful to his convictions. No lion's den could silence his courageous prayer. No presence of mighty monarch or of his festive guests could turn him aside from delivering his fateful message. Yet Daniel was not satisfied. Whatever might be his own condition, he remembered what Jerusalem was and what the people to whom he belonged were and, in the depths of his soul he sorrowed, notwithstanding all that God's Grace had worked within him. I firmly believe that the better a man's own character becomes and the more joy in the Lord he has in his own heart, the more capable is he of sympathetic sorrow and, probably, the more of it he will have. If you have room in your soul for sacred joy, you have equal room for holy grief and, depend upon it, you will have both of these emotions if the Lord has perfectly consecrated you and purposes to use you for His Glory. Daniel was also a man of many visions. With the exception of John, whom Daniel greatly resembles, it has scarcely fallen to the lot of any man, unless it is Ezekiel, to have so many wondrous visions of God. Yet his visions did not make him visionary. There are many persons who could not be trusted to see the tip of an angel's wing—for they would become so proud, afterwards, that there would be no holding them.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2788: “Prayer for the Church” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
A TRUE-HEARTED Believer does not live for himself. Where there is abundance of Grace and great strength of mind in the service of God, there is sure to be a spirit of unselfishness. It was so with Daniel, who was a model man in the matter of decision of character and a holy, believing walk before the Lord. That "man greatly beloved" was, in all respects, faithful to his convictions. No lion's den could silence his courageous prayer. No presence of mighty monarch or of his festive guests could turn him aside from delivering his fateful message.
And cause thy face to shine - Give us proof that thou art reconciled to us.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֣ה׀ | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| שְׁמַ֣ע | shema' | listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּ | ʾeloheinu | O God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| תְּפִלַּ֤ת | tefilat | [the] prayer of | H8605 → | 72 times |
| עַבְדְּךָ֙ | ʾavdekha | servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| תַּ֣חֲנוּנָ֔יו | tachanunav | supplications his | H8469 → | 18 times |
| וְהָאֵ֣ר | vehaer | and make shine | H215 → | |
| פָּנֶ֔יךָ | paneikha | face your | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִקְדָּשְׁךָ֖ | mikdashecha | sanctuary your | H4720 → | 75 times |
| הַשָּׁמֵ֑ם | hashamem | <the> desolate | H8076 → | |
| לְמַ֖עַן | lemaan | for [the] sake of | H4616 → | |
| אֲדֹנָֽי׃ | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
וְעַתָּ֣ה׀and therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
שְׁמַ֣עlisten
shema'H8085 →1159 times
אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּO God our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
תְּפִלַּ֤ת[the] prayer of
tefilatH8605 →72 times
עַבְדְּךָ֙servant your
ʾavdekhaH5650 →799 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
תַּ֣חֲנוּנָ֔יוsupplications his
tachanunavH8469 →18 times
וְהָאֵ֣רand make shine
vehaerH215 →
פָּנֶ֔יךָface your
paneikhaH6440 →2123 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מִקְדָּשְׁךָ֖sanctuary your
mikdashechaH4720 →75 times
הַשָּׁמֵ֑ם<the> desolate
hashamemH8076 →
לְמַ֖עַןfor [the] sake of
lemaanH4616 →
אֲדֹנָֽי׃[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Corinthians 1:20For all the promises of God are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him, our “Amen” is spoken to the glory of God.
it leads to
- 1 John 2:24–25
As for you, let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If it does, you will also remain in the Son and in the Father.
- Galatians 3:22
But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.
- Revelation 7:12
saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
- Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
- Ephesians 1:6
to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
- 1 John 2:24–25
Through
Psalms 80:3Restore us, O God, and cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
it leads to
- Psalms 80:19
Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts; cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Lamentations 5:21
Restore us to Yourself, O LORD, so we may return; renew our days as of old,
- Psalms 80:19
Through
Psalms 80:19Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts; cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
it leads to
- Psalms 80:3
Restore us, O God, and cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 80:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies12
About Daniel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2788: “Prayer for the Church” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER NINE; John Calvin, Commentary on the Prophet Daniel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.