Daniel 9:6
in Daniel 9We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, and fathers, and to all the people of the land.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, that spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
KJV
Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
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This verse in Daniel 9
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes
on Daniel 9:3-6
Daniel seeks the Lord “with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes,” and his confession runs in the key of Ezra 9 and Nehemiah 9. He prays as one of the guilty people, the pattern the older commentators find in Moses and Nehemiah, a righteous man confessing with his nation.
This site's exposition
Your servants the prophets
Matthew Henry counted the broken law of Moses as one aggravation of Israel's sin, and this verse adds the prophets they refused. Theodoret of Cyrus saw God's constant care in it. Albert Barnes stressed that the prophets addressed every class, from kings to the common people.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Then to bring out God's constant care for them and the people's great insensitivity, [Daniel] went on, "We have not hearkened to your servants the prophets, who kept speaking in your name to our kings, to our rulers, to our fathers and to the whole …
Although Daniel has already received manifold grace due to his faith and innocence and although he has received quite a reputation before the Lord in regard to his virtues and praises, he strives with fasting to be worthy of God; he puts on sackcloth and ashes and makes confession with tears.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Two things aggravated their sins:-- 1. That they had violated the express laws God had given them by Moses: "We have departed from they precepts and from thy judgments, and have not conformed to them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets,....
This confession of sin is repeated here, and much insisted on; penitents should again and again accuse and reproach themselves till they find their hearts thoroughly broken.
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
Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets - Who called upon us to turn from our sins; who made known the will of God, and who proclaimed that these judgments would come upon us if we did not repent. Which spake in thy name to our kings ... - To all classes of the people, calling on kings and rulers to turn from their idolatry, and the people to forsake their sins, and to seek the Lord.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹ֤א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמַ֙עְנוּ֙ | shama'nu | we have listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֲבָדֶ֣יךָ | ʾavadeikha | servants your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| הַנְּבִיאִ֔ים | haneviim | the prophets | H5030 → | 314 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבְּרוּ֙ | diberu | they spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| בְּשִׁמְךָ֔ | beshimkha | in name your | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מְלָכֵ֥ינוּ | melakheinu | kings our | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שָׂרֵ֖ינוּ | sareinu | leaders our | H8269 → | 421 times |
| וַאֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ | vaavoteinu | and ancestors our | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְאֶ֖ל | veel | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עַ֥ם | ʾam | [the] people of | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
וְלֹ֤אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמַ֙עְנוּ֙we have listened
shama'nuH8085 →1159 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עֲבָדֶ֣יךָservants your
ʾavadeikhaH5650 →799 times
הַנְּבִיאִ֔יםthe prophets
haneviimH5030 →314 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
דִּבְּרוּ֙they spoke
diberuH1696 →1141 times
בְּשִׁמְךָ֔in name your
beshimkhaH8034 →864 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מְלָכֵ֥ינוּkings our
melakheinuH4428 →2525 times
שָׂרֵ֖ינוּleaders our
sareinuH8269 →421 times
וַאֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּand ancestors our
vaavoteinuH1 →1212 times
וְאֶ֖לand to
veelH413 →5510 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עַ֥ם[the] people of
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Daniel 9:10and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God to walk in His laws, which He set before us through His servants the prophets.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 18:12
This happened because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD their God, but violated His covenant—all that Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded—and would neither listen nor obey.
- Nehemiah 9:13–17
You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them just ordinances, true laws, and good statutes and commandments.
- Hebrews 1:1
On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets.
- 2 Kings 17:13–15
Yet through all His prophets and seers, the LORD warned Israel and Judah, saying, “Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your…
- Ezra 9:10–11
And now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken the commandments
- 2 Kings 18:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies18
On this chapter
About Daniel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyprian, Treatise III. On the Lapsed 31; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 9:6.