Daniel 9:17 (ASV)

Passage

Now therefore, O our God, hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord`s sake.

Nearby Context

Daniel 9:15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

Daniel 9:16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, let thine anger and thy wrath, I pray thee, be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are round about us.

Daniel 9:17 Now therefore, O our God, hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord`s sake.

Daniel 9:18 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 righteousness, but for thy great mercies` sake.

Daniel 9:19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God, because thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "hearken", "prayer", "servant", "supplications", "cause", "face", and "shine". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "hearken", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "O Lord according to all thy righteousness..." into verse 18's "O my God incline thine ear and...", so "therefore" and "hearken" belong inside that flow. In Daniel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "therefore" and "hearken" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.