Daniel 9:18
in Daniel 9Incline Your ear, O my God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You because of our righteous acts, but because of Your great compassion.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies’ sake.
KJV
O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.
⋯
This verse in Daniel 9
Commentary
8 notes on this verseVerse 18. "For Thine own sake, O my God, incline Thine ear and hear; open Thine eyes and behold our desolation..." This appeal is couched in anthropomorphic language (anthropopathos), with the implication that whenever our prayers are heard, God seems to incline His ear; and whenever God deigns to have regard to us, He appears to open His eyes; but whenever He turns His face away, we appear to be unworthy of attention either from His eyes or His ears.
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 Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
We cannot now expect that God should send us answers to our prayer by angels, but, if we pray with fervency for that which God has promised, we may by faith take the promise as an immediate answer to the prayer; for he is faithful that has promised. [2.] He had a discovery made to him of a far greater and more glorious redemption which God would work out for his church in the latter days.
They take their encouragement in prayer from God only, as knowing that his reasons of mercy are fetched from within himself, and therefore from him we must borrow all our pleas for mercy, and so give honour to him when we are suing for grace and mercy from him. (1.) "Do it for thy own sake (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
O look with pity upon a pitiable case!" Note, The desolations of the church must in prayer be laid before God and then left with him. (5.) "Do it for the sake of the relation we stand in to thee. The sanctuary that is desolate is thy sanctuary (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
It was the city which God had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. "The people that have become a reproach are thy people, and thy name suffers in the reproach cast upon them (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
O my God, incline thine ear, and hear,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
O my God, incline thine ear, and hear - Pleading earnestly for his attention and his favor, as one does to a man. Open thine eyes - As if his eyes had been closed upon the condition of the city, and he did not see it. Of course, all this is figurative, and is the language of strong and earnest pleading when the heart is greatly interested.
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַטֵּ֨ה | hateh | incline | H5186 → | |
| אֱלֹהַ֥י׀ | ʾelohai | O God my | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אָזְנְךָ֮ | ʾazenekha | ear your | H241 → | |
| וּֽשֲׁמָע֒ | ushama' | and listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| פְּקַ֣ח | pikchah | open | H6491 → | |
| עֵינֶ֗יךָ | ʾeineikha | eyes your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| וּרְאֵה֙ | ureeh | and see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| שֹֽׁמְמֹתֵ֔ינוּ | shomemoteinu | desolate [things] our | H8074 → | 86 times |
| וְהָעִ֕יר | vehair | and the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נִקְרָ֥א | nikra' | it is called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| שִׁמְךָ֖ | shimkha | name your | H8034 → | 864 times |
| עָלֶ֑יהָ | ʾaleiha | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כִּ֣י׀ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| צִדְקֹתֵ֗ינוּ | tzidkoteinu | righteousness<es> our | H6666 → | 157 times |
| אֲנַ֨חְנוּ | ʾanachnu | we | H587 → | |
| מַפִּילִ֤ים | mapilim | [are] making fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| תַּחֲנוּנֵ֙ינוּ֙ | tachanuneinu | supplications our | H8469 → | 18 times |
| לְפָנֶ֔יךָ | lefaneikha | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| כִּ֖י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רַחֲמֶ֥יךָ | rachameikha | compassion<s> your | H7356 → | 45 times |
| הָרַבִּֽים׃ | harabim | <the> great | H7227 → | 454 times |
הַטֵּ֨הincline
hatehH5186 →
אֱלֹהַ֥י׀O God my
ʾelohaiH430 →2601 times
אָזְנְךָ֮ear your
ʾazenekhaH241 →
וּֽשֲׁמָע֒and listen
ushama'H8085 →1159 times
פְּקַ֣חopen
pikchahH6491 →
עֵינֶ֗יךָeyes your
ʾeineikhaH5869 →887 times
וּרְאֵה֙and see
ureehH7200 →1300 times
שֹֽׁמְמֹתֵ֔ינוּdesolate [things] our
shomemoteinuH8074 →86 times
וְהָעִ֕ירand the city
vehairH5892 →1090 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
נִקְרָ֥אit is called
nikra'H7121 →733 times
שִׁמְךָ֖name your
shimkhaH8034 →864 times
עָלֶ֑יהָon it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
כִּ֣י׀for
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
צִדְקֹתֵ֗ינוּrighteousness<es> our
tzidkoteinuH6666 →157 times
אֲנַ֨חְנוּwe
ʾanachnuH587 →
מַפִּילִ֤ים[are] making fall
mapilimH5307 →435 times
תַּחֲנוּנֵ֙ינוּ֙supplications our
tachanuneinuH8469 →18 times
לְפָנֶ֔יךָ<to> before you
lefaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
כִּ֖יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רַחֲמֶ֥יךָcompassion<s> your
rachameikhaH7356 →45 times
הָרַבִּֽים׃<the> great
harabimH7227 →454 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
Isaiah 37:17Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see. Listen to all the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 6:40
Now, my God, may Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 17:6
I call on You, O God, for You will answer me. Incline Your ear to me; hear my words.
- 2 Chronicles 6:40
Through
Jeremiah 25:29For behold, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears My Name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword…
it leads to
- Proverbs 11:31
If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!
- 1 Peter 4:17
For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
- Ezekiel 38:21
And I will summon a sword against Gog on all My mountains, declares the Lord GOD, and every man’s sword will be against his brother.
- Proverbs 11:31
Through
2 Kings 19:16Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see. Listen to the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 19:4
Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the…
- Isaiah 37:17
Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see. Listen to all the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God.
- 2 Kings 19:4
Through
Jeremiah 36:7Perhaps they will bring their petition before the LORD, and each one will turn from his wicked way; for great are the anger and fury that the LORD has pronounced against this people.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 36:3
Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the calamity I plan to bring upon them, each of them will turn from his wicked way. Then I will forgive their iniquity and their…
- Jeremiah 36:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies12
About Daniel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.