New King James Version
Daniel 9:3
3Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
Daniel 9:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
- New International Version (NIV)So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
- New Living Translation (NLT)So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.
Context of Daniel 9:3
1In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— 2in 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 Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, 5we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.
Read all of Daniel 9Daniel 9:3 word by word
וָאֶתְּנָ֣ה אֶת־פָּנַ֗י אֶל־אֲדֹנָי֙ הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔ים לְבַקֵּ֥שׁ תְּפִלָּ֖ה וְתַחֲנוּנִ֑ים בְּצ֖וֹם וְשַׂ֥ק וָאֵֽפֶר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And I setנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
- my faceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
- unto the Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- to seekבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
- by prayerתְּפִלָּהtephillâh · prayerH8605
- and supplicationsתַּחֲנוּןtachănûn tachănûnâh · supplicationH8469
- with fastingצוֹםtsôm tsôm · fastH6685
- and sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
- and ashesאֵ֫פֶר'êpher · ashesH665
Cross-references for Daniel 9:3
- Daniel 6:10Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.
- Nehemiah 1:4So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
- Psalms 102:13You will arise and have mercy on Zion; For the time to favor her, Yes, the set time, has come.
- Jeremiah 29:10For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.
- Jeremiah 33:3‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’
- Ezekiel 36:37‘Thus says the Lord God: “I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will increase their men like a flock.
- James 5:16Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
- Daniel 10:2In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks.
- Ezra 8:21Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.
- Ezra 9:5At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God.
- Ezra 10:6Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came there, he ate no bread and drank no water, for he mourned because of the guilt of those from the captivity.
- Nehemiah 9:1Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads.
- Esther 4:1When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry.
- Psalms 35:13But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart.
- Psalms 69:10When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, That became my reproach.
- Isaiah 22:12And in that day the Lord God of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.
Commentaries on Daniel 9:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3I set my face - to seek by prayer - He found that the time of the promised deliverance could not be at any great distance; and as he saw nothing that indicated a speedy termination of their oppressive captivity, he was very much afflicted, and earnestly besought God to put a speedy end to it; and how earnestly he seeks, his own words show. He prayed, he supplicated, he fasted, he put sackcloth upon his body, and he put ashes upon his head. He uses that…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3And I set my face unto the Lord God - Probably the meaning is, that he turned his face toward Jerusalem, the place where God had dwelt; the place of his holy abode on earth. See the notes at Daniel 6:10. The language, however, would not be inappropriate to denote prayer without such a supposition. We turn to one whom we address, and so prayer may be described by “setting the face toward God.” The essential idea here is, that he engaged in a set and formal…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Daniel realized the seventy years were almost over, so he asked the Lord God to restore his people and Jerusalem. People who were mourning often wore rough burlap clothing and placed ashes on themselves as a sign of sorrow (compare Nehemiah 9:1; Esther 4:1; Lamentations 2:10; Luke 10:13). Focused prayer often included fasting to prioritize spiritual concerns over physical needs.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. prayer ... supplications--literally, "intercessions ... entreaties for mercy." Praying for blessings, and deprecating evils.Read the comment
Topics related to Daniel 9:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Daniel 9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries