Daniel 9:14
in Daniel 9Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it upon us. For the LORD our God is righteous in all He does; yet we have not obeyed His voice.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Therefore hath Jehovah watched over the evil, and brought it upon us; for Jehovah our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth, and we have not obeyed his voice.
KJV
Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
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This verse in Daniel 9
Commentary
9 notes on this verseVerse 14. "'And the Lord hath kept watch over the evil and hath brought it upon us...'" Whenever we are rebuked because of our sins, God is keeping watch over us and visiting us with chastenment. But whenever we are left alone by God and we do not suffer judgment but are unworthy of the Lord's rebuke, then He is said to slumber. And so we read in the Psalms as well: "The Lord has risen up as one who was slumbering or as a man out of a drunken sleep" (Psalm 78:65).
This site's exposition
To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness
on Daniel 9:7-14
Daniel accepts the charge: “To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame”. The curse “written in the Law of Moses” falls, and the covenant sanctions of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 come due. He confesses that God “is righteous in all He does”.
This site's exposition
kept the calamity in store
Albert Barnes noted that the Hebrew verb for kept in store means to stay awake and watch, the word used in Jeremiah 1:12. Jerome drew the lesson that the calamity God brought shows He is watching over His people. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown added that true penitents call God righteous.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
) the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he does, even in the sore calamities we are now under, for we obeyed not the words of his mouth, and therefore justly feel the weight of his hand." This seems to be borrowed from Lam. i. He takes notice of the fulfilling of the scripture in what was brought upon them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us,....
Now the first step towards this is to make our prayer before the Lord our God, that the affliction may be sanctified before it is removed, and that the grace of God may go along with the providence of God, to make it answer the end. Those who in their affliction make not their prayer to God, who cry not when he binds them, are not likely to turn from iniquity or to understand his truth.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
God watching upon the Jews' punishment forms a striking contrast to the Jews' slumbering in their sins. God is righteous--True penitents "justify" God, "ascribing righteousness to Him," instead of complaining of their punishment as too severe (Ne 9:33;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Lord watched upon the evil - In consequence of our manifold rebellions he hath now watched for an opportunity to bring these calamities upon us.
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
Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil - The word here used and rendered watched - שׁקד shâqad - means, properly, “to wake; to be sleepless; to watch.” Then it means to watch over anything, or to be attentive to it. Jer 1:12; Jer 31:28; Jer 44:27. - Gesenius, “Lexicon” The meaning here is, that the Lord had not been inattentive to the progress of things, nor unmindful of his threatening. He had never slumbered, but had carefully observed the course of events, and had been attentive to all that they had done, and to all that he had threatened to do. The practical “truth” taught here - and it is one of great importance to sinners - is, that God is not inattentive to their conduct, though he may seem to be, and that in due time he will show that he has kept an unslumbering eye upon them. See the notes at Isa 18:4. For the Lord our God is righteous in all his works ... - This is the language of a true penitent; language which is always used by one who has right feelings when he reflects on the Divine dealings toward him. God is seen to be righteous in his law and in his dealings, and the only reason why we suffer is that we have sinned. This will be found to be true always; and whatever calamities we suffer, it should he a fixed principle with us to “ascribe righteousness to our Maker,” Job 36:3.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
As is written in the Law of Moses a hint that He warned us that if we transgress the oath, all this evil will befall us.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁקֹ֤ד | vaiyishkod | and he kept watch | H8245 → | |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָ֣רָעָ֔ה | haraah | the calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וַיְבִיאֶ֖הָ | vayvieha | and he brought it | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עָלֵ֑ינוּ | ʾaleinu | on us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| צַדִּ֞יק | tzadik | [has been] righteous | H6662 → | |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּ | ʾeloheinu | God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַֽעֲשָׂיו֙ | maasav | deeds his | H4639 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשָׂ֔ה | ʾasah | he has done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמַ֖עְנוּ | shama'nu | we listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְּקֹלֽוֹ׃ | bekolo | to voice his | H6963 → | 506 times |
וַיִּשְׁקֹ֤דand he kept watch
vaiyishkodH8245 →
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָ֣רָעָ֔הthe calamity
haraahH7451 →662 times
וַיְבִיאֶ֖הָand he brought it
vayviehaH935 →2568 times
עָלֵ֑ינוּon us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
צַדִּ֞יק[has been] righteous
tzadikH6662 →
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּGod our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מַֽעֲשָׂיו֙deeds his
maasavH4639 →
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָשָׂ֔הhe has done
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמַ֖עְנוּwe listened
shama'nuH8085 →1159 times
בְּקֹלֽוֹ׃to voice his
bekoloH6963 →506 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
Jeremiah 31:28Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 1:10
See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 24:6
I will keep My eyes on them for good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.
- Jeremiah 18:7–9
At any time I might announce that a nation or kingdom will be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed.
- Jeremiah 45:4
Thus Jeremiah was to say to Baruch: “This is what the LORD says: Throughout the land I will demolish what I have built and uproot what I have planted.
- Jeremiah 44:27
I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine, until they are…
- Jeremiah 1:10
Through
Psalms 51:14Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 12:9
Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own, for you have…
- Psalms 35:28
Then my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness and Your praises all day long.
- 2 Samuel 12:9
Through
Jeremiah 44:27I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine, until they are…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:28
Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 31:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies18
On this chapter
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); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER NINE; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.