Daniel 9:6 (DBY)

Passage

And we have not hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, who spoke in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

Nearby Context

Daniel 9:4 and I prayed unto Jehovah my God, and made my confession, and said, Alas Lord! the great and terrible God, keeping covenant and loving-kindness with them that love him, and that keep his commandments:

Daniel 9:5 we have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from thy commandments and from thine ordinances.

Daniel 9:6 And we have not hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, who spoke in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

Daniel 9:7 Thine, O Lord, is the righteousness, but unto us confusion of face, as at this day, to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, in all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their unfaithfulness in which they have been unfaithful against thee.

Daniel 9:8 O Lord, unto us is confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hearkened", "servants", "prophets", "spoke", "name", "kings", "princes", and "fathers". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hearkened" and "servants", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "we have sinned and have committed iniquity..." into verse 7's "Thine O Lord is the righteousness but...", so "hearkened" and "servants" 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 "hearkened" and "servants" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.