The Plague on the Firstborn Foretold

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will bring upon Pharaoh and Egypt one more plague. After that, he will allow you to leave this place. And when he lets you go, he will drive you out completely.

²Now announce to the people that men and women alike should ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.”

³And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.

⁴So Moses declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt,

⁵and every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the servant girl behind the hand mill, as well as the firstborn of all the cattle.

⁶Then a great cry will go out over all the land of Egypt. Such an outcry has never been heard before and will never be heard again.

⁷But among all the Israelites, not even a dog will snarl at man or beast.’Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

⁸And all these officials of yours will come and bow before me, saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that, I will depart.”And hot with anger, Moses left Pharaoh’s presence.

⁹The LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

¹⁰Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the LORD hardenedPharaoh’s heart so that he would not let the Israelites go out of his land.

Twenty-Four Divisions of Musicians

¹Additionally, David and the commanders of the army set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy with the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. The following is the list of the men who performed this service:

²From the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. These sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king.

³From the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei,Hashabiah, and Mattithiah—six in all—under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the harp, giving thanks and praise to the LORD.

⁴From the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel,Jerimoth,Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth.

⁵All these sons of Heman the king’s seer were given him through the promises of God to exalt him, for God had given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

⁶All these were under the direction of their fathers for the music of the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres, for the service of the house of God.Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the direction of the king.

⁷Together with their relatives, who were all trained and skillful in the songs of the LORD, they numbered 288.

⁸They cast lots for their duties, young and old alike, teacher as well as pupil.

⁹The first lot, which was for Asaph, fell to Joseph, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;the second to Gedaliah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

¹⁰the third to Zaccur, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

¹¹the fourth to Izri,his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

¹²the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

¹³the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

¹⁴the seventh to Jesarelah,his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

¹⁵the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

¹⁶the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

¹⁷the tenth to Shimei, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

¹⁸the eleventh to Azarel,his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

¹⁹the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

²⁰the thirteenth to Shubael, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

²¹the fourteenth to Mattithiah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

²²the fifteenth to Jeremoth,his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

²³the sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

²⁴the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

²⁵the eighteenth to Hanani, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

²⁶the nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

²⁷the twentieth to Eliathah, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

²⁸the twenty-first to Hothir, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

²⁹the twenty-second to Giddalti, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

³⁰the twenty-third to Mahazioth, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

³¹and the twenty-fourth to Romamti-ezer, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all.

Daniel’s Prayer for His People

¹In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes,a Mede by descent, who was made ruler over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—

²in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the sacred books, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.

³So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

⁴And I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, “O, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of loving devotionto those who love Him and keep His commandments,

⁵we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances.

⁶We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, fathers, and all the people of the land.

⁷To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel near and far, in all the countries to which You have driven us because of our unfaithfulness to You.

⁸O LORD, we are covered with shame—our kings, our leaders, and our fathers—because we have sinned against You.

⁹To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, even though we have rebelled against Him

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.

¹¹All Israel has transgressed Your law and turned away, refusing to obey Your voice; so the oath and the curse written in the Law of Moses the servant of God has been poured out on us, because we have sinned against You.

¹²You have carried out the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us a great disaster. For under all of heaven, nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.

¹³Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquities and giving attention to Your truth.

¹⁴Therefore 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.

¹⁵Now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and who made for Yourself a name renowned to this day, we have sinned; we have acted wickedly.

¹⁶O Lord, in keeping with all Your righteous acts, I pray that Your anger and wrath may turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all around us.

¹⁷So 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.

¹⁸Incline 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.

¹⁹O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people bear Your name.”

Gabriel’s Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks

²⁰While I was speaking, praying, confessing my sin and that of my people Israel, and presenting my petition before the LORD my God concerning His holy mountain—

²¹while I was still praying, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.

²²He instructed me and spoke with me, saying: “O Daniel, I have come now to give you insight and understanding.

²³At the beginning of your petitions, an answer went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly precious. So consider the message and understand the vision:

²⁴Seventy weeksare decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.

²⁵Know and understand this: From the issuance of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah,the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of distress.

²⁶Then after the sixty-two weeksthe Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing.Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations have been decreed.

²⁷And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week,but in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple will come the abomination that causes desolation,until the decreed destruction is poured out upon him.”

Contend with My Opponents, O LORD

¹Contend with my opponents, O LORD;fight against those who fight against me.

²Take up Your shield and buckler;arise and come to my aid.

³Draw the spear and javelinagainst my pursuers;say to my soul: “I am your salvation.”

⁴May those who seek my lifebe disgraced and put to shame;may those who plan to harm mebe driven back and confounded.

⁵May they be like chaff in the wind,as the angel of the LORD drives them away.

⁶May their path be dark and slick,as the angel of the LORD pursues.

⁷For without cause they laid their net for me;without reason they dug a pit for my soul.

⁸May ruin befall them by surprise;may the net they hid ensnare them;may they fall into the hazard they created.

⁹Then my soul will rejoice in the LORDand exult in His salvation.

¹⁰All my bones will exclaim,“Who is like You, O LORD,who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor,the poor and needy from the robber?”

¹¹Hostile witnesses come forward;they make charges I know nothing about.

¹²They repay me evil for good,to the bereavement of my soul.

¹³Yet when they were ill,I put on sackcloth;I humbled myself with fasting,but my prayers returned unanswered.

¹⁴I paced aboutas for my friend or brother;I was bowed down with grief,like one mourning for his mother.

¹⁵But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee;they gathered together against me.Assailants I did not knowslandered me without ceasing.

¹⁶Like godless jesters at a feast,they gnashed their teeth at me.

¹⁷How long, O Lord, will You look on?Rescue my soul from their ravages,my precious life from these lions.

¹⁸Then I will give You thanks in the great assembly;I will praise You among many people.

¹⁹Let not my enemies gloat over me without cause,nor those who hate me without reason wink in malice.

²⁰For they do not speak peace,but they devise deceitful schemesagainst those who live quietly in the land.

²¹They gape at me and say,“Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”

²²O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent.O Lord, be not far from me.

²³Awake and rise to my defense,to my cause, my God and my Lord!

²⁴Vindicate me by Your righteousness, O LORD my God,and do not let them gloat over me.

²⁵Let them not say in their hearts,“Aha, just what we wanted!”Let them not say,“We have swallowed him up!”

²⁶May those who gloat in my distressbe ashamed and confounded;may those who exalt themselves over mebe clothed in shame and reproach.

²⁷May those who favor my vindicationshout for joy and gladness;may they always say, “Exalted be the LORDwho delights in His servant’s well-being.”

²⁸Then my tongue will proclaim Your righteousnessand Your praises all day long.