Dan 9:1 "In the first year of Darius" — From this point he begins to treat of the visions concerning the liberation of the people of God, and the passage has three parts. In the first, the limits of the liberation are revealed with respect to time. In the second, the offering of an obstacle to liberation is revealed, below at 10:1, where it says "In the third year of the reign of Cyrus." In the third, the course of future tribulation through Antichrist and his forerunners, below at 11:1, where it says "But I, from the first year of Darius the Mede."
The first of these is divided into two parts: first, a confession with prayer is set forth, so that he may merit the revelation; second, the consolation that is revealed to the one praying, at v. 20: "And while I was still speaking and praying."
The first part itself has two sections: first, he sets down what led him to prayer; second, the confession and prayer are presented, at v. 4: "And I prayed to the Lord God."
He says therefore:
"In the first year of Darius, son of Ahasuerus" — Jerome: "We should not suppose that this Darius is the one who was the son of Hystaspes, nor the second Darius surnamed Nothus, nor the one who was defeated by Alexander king of the Macedonians: lest we suppose this, he added both the name of the father and the victory. For three Dariuses reigned in Persia: the first was the son of Hystaspes, the second was Darius surnamed Nothus, of whom he seems to make mention here, the third was Darius son of Arsames, whom Alexander killed. And when it says 'son of Ahasuerus,' it does not refer to that Ahasuerus of whom we read in Esther 1:1 and following, but there was an Ahasuerus who was also called by another name, Astyages." He describes his lineage: "of the seed of the Medes, who ruled over the kingdom of the Chaldeans" — the first, that is, of whom Isaiah says (13:17): Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who do not seek silver or desire gold, but with their arrows they will strike down the young.
Dan 9:2 "In one year of his reign" — that is, in the first year — "I, Daniel, understood from the books" — those of Jeremiah, namely, chapter 25, and in the letters of Jeremiah. And he directs us to the study of the divine books. Romans 15:4: For whatever was written was written for our instruction. "The number of years" — seventy, namely — "concerning which the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the Prophet" — Habakkuk 3:2, where we have "In the midst of the years make it known"; the Septuagint has "When the years draw near, you will know." "That there should be completed" — with the completion of finality, that is — "the desolation." Arrange the text thus: "That seventy years of desolation of Jerusalem should be completed." In the letter of Jeremiah, Baruch 6:2: And so entering into Babylon, you will be there many years and for a long time, up to seven generations. Jeremiah 29:10: When seventy years in Babylon begin to be completed, I will visit you and raise up my good word over you, so as to bring you back to this place.
Dan 9:3 "And I set" — that is, I fixed firmly — "my face toward the Lord my God" — Luke 18:1: It is necessary always to pray and not to lose heart. He says to the Lord, because it belongs to the Lord to raise up His subjects; God, because it belongs to God to restore what has been corrupted; and my, because he has made Him his own by worship and the privilege of charity. John 20:28: My Lord and my God. Psalm 45:11: He is the Lord your God, and they shall worship Him. "To pray" — for obtaining good things — "and to make supplication" — for removing evils — "with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes" — so that through fasting the wantonness of the flesh may be subdued, through sackcloth the delights of the flesh be turned into roughness, and through ashes the spirit may be humbled. Jonah 3:8: Let men and animals be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry out to the Lord with force. Tobit 12:8: Prayer with fasting and almsgiving is good. Psalm 35:13: I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer shall be turned back into my bosom. Jonah 3:6: The king put off his garment, and clothed himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Joel 2:12: Turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.
Dan 9:4 "And I prayed." In this section, first he sets down the confession; second, the prayer itself, at v. 15: "And now, Lord our God."
In the confession he first sets forth the shame of sin; second, the consideration of divine justice; third, the shame that sin brings; fourth, the infliction of the punishment that sin deserved; fifth, the justice of the judge who inflicted punishment upon sin.
He says therefore: "And I prayed to the Lord my God." — Augustine: "Prayer is the devout inclination of the mind directed toward God." Colossians 4:2: Be steadfast in prayer, watching in it. He prays to his Lord, because He alone could save. Deuteronomy 4:7: Our God is present to all our supplications. "And I made confession." Proverbs 18:17: The just man is the first accuser of himself. Joshua 7:19: My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession, and tell me what you have done; do not hide it. "And I said" — more with the heart than with the mouth — "I beseech Thee, O Lord" — that is, by the sacrament of Thy goodness and piety I ask. "Great God" — in power, that is. Psalm 77:13: What God is great like our God? "And terrible" — in the severity of judgment. Job 25:2: Power and terror are with Him. "Keeping covenant" — that which You made with the fathers when You gave the law. Nehemiah 1:5: I beseech Thee, Lord God of heaven, strong, great and terrible, who keepest covenant and mercy with those who love Thee. Genesis 17:7: I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you in their generations as an everlasting covenant. "And mercy" — which You show beyond the covenant. James 2:13: Mercy exalts itself above judgment. Isaiah 55:7: He is plentiful in forgiving. Jonah 4:2: Thou art a gracious and merciful God, patient and of great compassion, and forgiving evil. "With those who love" — the love of God is the love of the law. Romans 13:10: The fullness of the law is love. And because the proof of love is the display of works, he therefore adds: "and who keep Thy commandments." John 14:23: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. 1 John 3:18: Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
Dan 9:5 "We have sinned" — by a deformed act against ourselves. "We have committed iniquity" — that is, injury against our neighbor. "We have acted wickedly" — against Thee, that is, or against God. Psalm 106:6: We have sinned with our fathers, we have acted unjustly, we have committed iniquity. "And we have turned away" — from good, that is, into the land of unlikeness to God. Zechariah 7:11: They turned a receding shoulder. Jeremiah 7:11: They have gone far from me and have walked after vanity, and have become vain. "And we have declined" — by omission — "from Thy commandments" — the affirmative ones, that is — "and Thy judgments" — that is, the judicial laws. Isaiah 1:4: Woe to the sinful nation, the people laden with iniquity, the wicked seed, the corrupt children!
In what manner they committed these sins he adds:
Dan 9:6 "We have not obeyed Thy servants the Prophets." Against this it is said in Deuteronomy 18:15: A prophet from among your people and your brethren, like me, will the Lord your God raise up for you: him you shall hear. And these Prophets hold the place of preachers, of whom it is said in Luke 10:16: He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me. "Who spoke in Thy name" — and not in their own name, but for the honor of Thy name. James 5:10: Take, brothers, as an example of evil outcome, of labor and patience, the Prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. "To our kings" — who were our leaders in sin — "to our princes" — who, led on by the kings, subverted the people. Hosea 7:3: With their malice they made the king glad, and with their lies the princes. "To our fathers" — who subverted their children and household discipline. Isaiah 43:27: Your first father sinned, and your interpreters have transgressed against me. Lamentations 5:7: Our fathers sinned and are no more; and we have borne their iniquities. "And to all the people of the land" — for all turned aside. Psalm 14:3: All have turned aside, they have become useless together.
Dan 9:7 "To Thee, O Lord, justice." The second passage, in which he attributes justice to God and shame to himself; and this is it:
"To Thee, O Lord, justice" — supply: is to be attributed. Deuteronomy 32:4: God is faithful and without any iniquity, just and right. "But to us confusion of face" — so that we dare not look upon either Thee or heaven. Luke 18:13: He was unwilling even to raise his eyes to heaven, but struck his breast saying: God, be merciful to me a sinner. In the Prayer of Manasseh, toward the middle: I am not worthy to behold or to look upon the height of heaven because of the multitude of my iniquities. "As it is this day" — supply: confusion — "to the men of Judah" — to the two tribes, that is — "and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem" — to the prelates, that is, the kings and priests — "and to all Israel" — that is, to the whole people. Romans 3:23: All have sinned and lack the glory of God. "To those who are near and those who are far away in all the lands" — for they were scattered in various lands far and near; or those who are near are those who sinned little, and those who are far are those who sinned greatly. Ephesians 2:17: He preached peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near. "To which" — that is, to which lands — "Thou hast driven them" — supply: from their homeland. Jeremiah 15:1: My soul is not toward this people: cast them out from my sight, and let them go forth. "Because of their iniquities." Psalm 107:17: For they were humbled because of their injustices. "In which they sinned against Thee" — for every sin redounds to the contempt of God, against whose commandment it is committed. Genesis 42:36: All these evils fall back upon me.
The third paragraph, in which he asks for shame upon his own account, and praise of divine justice; and this is it:
Dan 9:8-9 "O Lord, to us confusion of face." Jeremiah 31:19: I was confounded and ashamed, for I bore the reproach of my youth. "To our kings" — that is, to our greater prelates — "and to our princes" — to our lesser prelates. Isaiah 1:23: Your princes are faithless, companions of thieves. "And to our fathers who have sinned" — supply: belongs confusion. Ezekiel 16:3: Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. "But to Thee, O Lord our God, mercy" — supply: is to be attributed. Psalm 77:9: Or will God forget to be merciful, or will He shut up His mercies in His anger? "And forgiveness" — for sin, that is. Psalm 78:38: Be merciful to our sins. "For we have departed from Thee." Exodus 32:8: They have quickly turned aside from the way which Thou didst show them.
Dan 9:10 "And we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God." Against this it is said in Isaiah 30:21: And your ears shall hear a word behind you warning: This is the way, walk in it. "That we might walk in His law" — by progress in virtue and its burden. Psalm 119:1: Blessed are those who are blameless in their way, who walk in the law of the Lord. "Which He set before us through His servants the Prophets." Sirach 24:33: Moses commanded a law in precepts of justice.
Dan 9:11 "And all Israel has transgressed Thy law." Isaiah 48:8: I know that you will act treacherously and have been called a transgressor from the womb. "And they turned aside so as not to hear Thy voice." Jeremiah 7:28: This is the nation that has not obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, nor received discipline.
"And it has dropped." The fourth paragraph, in which he speaks of the infliction of punishment; and by the word drop note that He punishes in the present below what is deserved, and that the present punishment is a drop, while the future is as a sea. And this is it:
"And the curse has dropped upon us" — that is, the punishment of Thy curse. Job 26:14: When we have scarcely heard a small drop of His word, who could behold the thunder of His greatness? That thunder is what it says in Matthew 25:41: Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire. "And the imprecation" — supply: has dropped upon us — "which is written in the book of Moses" — for therein the curses are described upon those who do not keep the law. "The servant of God." Numbers 12:7: My servant Moses, who is most faithful in all my house. "For we have sinned against him" — that is, against him, namely the book; hence it is said therein (Deuteronomy 27:26): Cursed is the man who does not abide by the words of this law.
Dan 9:12 "And He has confirmed" — that is, by effect He has made firm and verified — "His words" — about the curses, that is — "which He spoke against us" — in Deuteronomy, that is. Isaiah 31:2: He himself is wise and has brought evil, and has not taken away His words. "And against our princes" — the wicked ones — "who judged us" — Gloss: "Not according to God." Wisdom 6:4: When you were ministers of His kingdom, you did not judge rightly, nor keep the law of justice, nor walk according to the will of God. "So as to bring upon us" — that is, against us.
And note that the word so as here is not causal but consecutive: for punishment follows upon guilt. "A great evil" — that is, captivity. Wisdom 5:13: We were consumed in our malice. "Such as never was under all heaven" — a like evil, that is, in famine, pestilence, and the sword. Lamentations 1:12: O all you who pass by the way, attend and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow! "According to what has been done in Jerusalem." Lamentations 2:13: Great as the sea is thy destruction: who shall heal thee?
Dan 9:13 "As it is written in the law of Moses" — Isaiah 34:16: Search diligently in the book of the Lord and read: not one of these has been lacking. And this is what follows: "All this evil has come upon us" — Job 3:25: The thing I feared has come upon me. And thus, supply: beaten down by these scourges yet stubborn in their sins, "we have not entreated Thy face, O Lord our God" — that is, converted through penitence. Jeremiah 2:30: In vain have I struck your children; they have not received correction. "That we might turn from our iniquities." Isaiah 55:7: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unjust man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord. "And understand Thy truth" — which Thou holdest in Thy threats and in the severity of Thy judgments. Hebrews 2:2–3: If every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
Dan 9:14 "And the Lord has watched" — who first seemed to sleep, by way of similitude. Jeremiah 1:12: I will watch over my word to perform it. "Over the evil" — to be avenged, that is. Psalm 78:65: The Lord was awakened as one who sleeps, as a mighty man flushed with wine. "And has brought it" — that is, the evil — "upon us" — through the oppressing punishment. Jerome: "Our malice and wickedness intoxicate the Lord so that He sleeps; when it is corrected in us, He is said to awake." Psalm 44:23: Arise, why dost Thou sleep, O Lord?
And he returns to the confession of the justice of the Judge — this is the fifth paragraph.
"The Lord our God is just in all His works which He has done" — concerning us and concerning all. Psalm 11:7: The Lord is just, and He loves justice. "For we have not hearkened to His voice." Against this it is said in Psalm 95:8: Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.
Dan 9:15 "And now, O Lord our God." He adds the prayer after the confession, and in this prayer he does four things: he petitions, he humbly shows the unworthiness of the one praying, he intends to obtain by God's goodness, and he asks to be heard quickly.
And this is it:
"And now, O Lord our God" — as if to say: Whatever may have been in the past, now we are converted. Ezekiel 18:21–22: If the wicked man does penance for all his sins which he has committed… he shall surely live and not die; I will remember none of the iniquities which he has committed. "Who brought forth Thy people from the land of Egypt." Gloss: "He recalls the ancient benefit so as to provoke Him to do likewise." Micah 6:3–4: My people… I brought you out of the land of Egypt. "With a strong hand" — that is, with most mighty signs. Exodus 3:19: I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go except by a mighty hand. "And hast made Thee a name" — supply: heavenly — "according to this day" — on which, that is, it is known to all what Thou hast done. Isaiah 63:14: So Thou didst lead Thy people, to make Thyself a glorious name. "We have sinned" — against ourselves, that is — "we have committed iniquity" — against our neighbor, that is.
Dan 9:16 "O Lord, against all" — that is, against all — "Thy justice" — natural and written. Isaiah 24:5: They have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. "Let Thy anger be averted, I beseech Thee" — that is, the punishment which Thou hast inflicted out of anger — "and Thy fury" — burning anger, which is recognized in great punishment — "from the city of Jerusalem." Psalm 51:11: Turn Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Job 9:34: Let Him take His rod away from me. By metonymy, moreover, by Jerusalem he understands all those belonging to the city, or to the Church. "And from Thy holy mountain" — by which he understands the kingdom and the priesthood, since both existed on the mountain. Psalm 48:2: Mount Zion, the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
"For it is because of our sins." The second paragraph, in which he shows his unworthiness and humility.
And this is it:
"For because of our sins" — supply: which we ourselves have committed — "and the iniquities of our fathers" — for we are sinners and children of sinners. Psalm 51:5: For behold I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother conceive me. "Jerusalem" — the city of our sanctification and our glory, where our fathers praised Thee — "has become a burning with fire. And Thy people" — who worshipped Thee. Isaiah 64:9: Behold, Lord, look down; we are all Thy people. "Are a reproach to all those round about us." Psalm 44:14: Thou hast made us a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to those around us.
Dan 9:17 "Now therefore, hear, O our God, the prayer of Thy servant." Sirach 35:21: The prayer of him who humbles himself shall penetrate the clouds. 2 Maccabees 1:5: May God hear your prayers, and be reconciled to you. "And his supplications" — for removing evil, that is. Psalm 18:6: My cry came before Him, entered into His ears. Baruch 3:1: The soul in anguish and the weary spirit cry out to Thee, O Lord. "And show Thy face" — radiant in the light of Thy grace. Psalm 31:16: Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant. "Upon Thy sanctuary, which is desolate" — that is, upon the temple and the sanctification of the law, which Thou Thyself, supply, gavest. Psalm 65:4–5: Thy temple is holy, wonderful in justice. Likewise, Psalm 79:1: They have defiled Thy holy temple.
And he adds concerning the piety of God, in which he places all his hope. This is the third paragraph, and it is as follows: "For Thine own sake" — that is, for the sake of the piety that is natural to Thee. Ezekiel 36:22: It is not for your sake that I will do this, O house of Israel; let it be known, but for the sake of my holy name.
Dan 9:18 "Incline, O my God, Thine ear" — by drawing near to us through hearing. Psalm 86:1: Incline Thine ear, O Lord, and hear me. And this is: "and hear" — that is, graciously hear. Isaiah 38:5: I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears. "Open Thine eyes" — which Thou hast closed on account of sins — "and see" — with compassion — "our desolation." Exodus 3:7: I have seen the affliction of my people. "And the city" — supply: see — "upon which Thy name is invoked." Jeremiah 14:9: But Thou art among us, O Lord, and Thy name has been invoked over us: do not forsake us. Psalm 25:16: Look upon me and have mercy on me.
And he adds concerning the humility that merits being heard: "For it is not on account of our justifications" — in which, that is, we might trust or presume — "that we prostrate our prayers" — that is, prostrate we offer prayers — "before Thy face" — as the Pharisee did. Luke 18:11: God, I give Thee thanks that I am not like other men — and therefore he was not heard. Titus 3:5: Not by works of justice which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. And this is what follows: "but in Thy many compassions." Judith 9:16: The proud were never pleasing to Thee from the beginning, but the prayer of the humble and the meek has always pleased Thee.
And he adds in the fourth paragraph, concerning the swiftness of being heard; and this is it:
Dan 9:19 "Hear, O Lord" — Psalm 6:10: The Lord has heard my supplication. "Be appeased, O Lord" — that is, do not bring further evil. Exodus 32:14: The Lord was appeased, so as not to do the evil which He had spoken against His people. "Attend" — Psalm 35:23: Attend to my judgment, O my God and my Lord, in my cause — that is, so that Thou mayest apply Thy heart. "And act" — bringing to completion in deed. Psalm 86:17: Make with me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see and be confounded. "Do not delay, for Thine own sake, O my God." Psalm 70:5: O Lord, do not delay. Psalm 40:17: O my God, do not tarry — in hearing, that is. "For Thy name has been invoked upon the city" — Jerusalem, that is — "and upon Thy people." Joel 2:32 and Romans 10:13: Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Jeremiah 29:12, 14: You will pray to me and I will hear you, and I will bring back your captivity.
Dan 9:20 "While I was still speaking." Here is touched the illumination of the Prophet and the consolation of the people of God, and the passage has two parts. In the first the sum total of the time up to the perfect consolation is touched upon. In the second, the division of that sum is treated by its parts, and it is shown what happens in each part, at v. 25: "Know therefore and understand." In the first there are three paragraphs: first he says how he obtained the revelation — by prayer; second, from what revealer; third, in what manner.
And this is it:
"While I was still speaking" — to God, that is, in prayer; and this is what follows: "and" — that is — "praying." John 4:23: True worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. "And confessing my sins." Gloss: "Because there is a certain confession of praise and a certain confession of sin, for this reason he specifies 'my sins.'" Of the confession of praise it is said in Psalm 96:6: Confession and beauty are before Him. Of the confession of sin, Genesis 41:9: I confess my sin. And he does not say therefore my sins because he himself committed them, but because together with the people he bore them in punishment. Gloss: "Even though he had not sinned, he joins himself to the people so as to obtain pardon." And this is: "and the sins of my people Israel" — he calls the people his own by blood and by affection. The Apostle says similarly, Romans 9:2–3: I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I wished myself to be anathema from Christ for my brethren, who are my kinsmen according to the flesh. "That they might prostrate their prayers" — that is, that I might offer prayers prostrate. Exodus 4:31: They bowed down and worshipped. "Before my God" — that is, in secret, where God alone sees, not before men as the hypocrites. Matthew 6:5: They love to stand and pray at the corners of the streets. Psalm 31:20: Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy face from the disturbance of men. "For the holy mountain of my God." The matter of the prayer concerns the rebuilding of the mountain, whose destruction Jeremiah mourns in Lamentations 5:18: For Mount Zion, because it is destroyed, foxes have walked upon it.
And he adds concerning the revealer:
Dan 9:21 "While I was yet speaking in my prayer" — that is, before I finished so as to conclude my prayer. The Gloss introduces, according to the Septuagint, Isaiah 65:24: "While you are still speaking I will say, Behold, I am here." Our text has: Before they cry out I will hear; while they are yet speaking, I will hear. And this is what follows: "Behold, the man Gabriel." Gloss: "When it says 'man,' it signifies not the sex but the virtue in the more honorable sex." Hence Socrates, when he was dying, said to his friends: "We will go to the gods, to those best of men." And this is written in the book called the Phaedo. "Whom" — Gabriel, that is — "I had seen in the vision at the beginning" — at that same hour, that is, when he had strengthened him — "flying swiftly" — on account of the speed of his coming he says he flies. Similarly, Isaiah 6:6: One of the Seraphim flew to me. "Touched me" — with the touch of virtue and light. Song of Songs 5:4: My belly trembled at his touch — that is, the weakness of my flesh was faint. "At the time of the evening sacrifice." Gloss of Jerome: "Because prayer lasted from the morning sacrifice until the evening sacrifice, and for this reason it bent the Lord to mercy." Hence James 5:16: The continual prayer of a just man avails much. Luke 18:1: It is necessary always to pray and not to lose heart.
Dan 9:22 "And he instructed me" — by illuminating inwardly. Wisdom 7:21: Wisdom, the maker of all things, taught me. "And spoke to me" — outwardly in an oracle; hence the Seraphim too, in Isaiah 6:3, are said to cry out: Holy, holy, holy. "And said" — expressing it in distinct articulations. Jerome: "The vision is so obscure that even the Prophet has need of being taught."
And he adds how the illumination was made; and this is it:
"O Daniel" — O Daniel — "I have now come forth" — from the innermost depths of divine contemplation, where I received illumination — "to teach you" — those things, that is, which I received there. Isaiah 30:22: Go forth, you will say to him. Jerome: "From invisibility I have become visible, and I have come forth from the face of God — not so as to depart from Him, since He is everywhere." And this is: "that you might understand" — and to teach refers to the images of words, while to understand refers to the reception of the truth signified. Psalm 32:8: I will give you understanding and instruct you.
Dan 9:23 "From the beginning of your prayers" — I will teach you; and there is a verse here. Hence the Gloss: "From the moment you began to pray, you obtained it." Psalm 10:17 according to the Hebrews: The Lord has heard the desire of the poor: Thy ear has heard the preparation of their heart. "The word went forth." Behold the instruction, and it should be read under one verse, as if to say: Know that the word has already gone forth from God, fulfilling everything you ask. Isaiah 45:23: By myself I have sworn; a word of justice has gone forth from my mouth and shall not return, for every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall swear. Isaiah 55:11: My word which has gone forth from my mouth shall not return to me empty, but shall do whatever I willed. Now this word went forth when, in 1 Ezra 1:1 and following, Cyrus gave permission to rebuild the temple; yet the computation does not begin from that point but from when Artaxerxes, in the twentieth year of his reign, gave permission to Nehemiah his cupbearer to rebuild the walls of the city and to reconstruct the city. For then the word went forth into the heart of King Artaxerxes, as is read in Nehemiah (2 Ezra) 2:1 and following. For the computation must begin from that twentieth year of King Artaxerxes.
"But I have come" — as if to say: The word has long since gone forth that your petition should be granted; but because this is hidden from you, "I have come." Jeremiah 29:11: I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of affliction. "To show you" — those things you do not know. Song of Songs 1:6: Show me where you, whom my soul loves, graze, where you rest at midday. Exodus 33:19: I will show you all good. Micah 6:8: I will show you, O man, what is good, and what God requires of you. "For you are a man of desires" — that is, desired and loved by God. The Gloss introduces what is found in 2 Kings 12:25: He called his name Beloved of the Lord, for the Lord loved him. "Do thou therefore" — thou who art loved by God and worthy of illumination — "attend to the word" — that is, turn it over in your mind frequently, so that you may understand it individually part by part, and may be wholly captivated by it inwardly. Psalm 1:2: In His law he shall meditate day and night — for meditation is the frequent return of the mind to the same thing. "And understand the vision" — that is, the meaning of the vision. Isaiah 50:10: Who among you fears the Lord, and hearkens to the voice of His servant? — that is, understands. Proverbs 1:5: The wise man hearing shall be wiser, and he who understands shall possess governance.
And he adds concerning the sum total of the time up to the completion of the desolation — for this is what the holy one asked the other holy one in the preceding chapter at v. 13, when he said: How long the vision, and the continual sacrifice, and the sin of desolation?
Dan 9:24 He says therefore, as if in answer: "Seventy weeks are shortened." Seventy weeks are seventy times seven, and this is understood of weeks of years; so seventy weeks are seventy times seven years. They are called shortened not in number, as though they were fewer, but in quantity, because — not, as some say, are they to be computed according to solar years, but they are to be computed according to lunar years, which the Hebrews use. For since the solar year exceeds the lunar year by eleven days, and the lunar year has three hundred and fifty-four days, it follows that the solar year has three hundred and sixty-five days; and by this reckoning seventy weeks of lunar years make four hundred and ninety lunar years, which if reduced to solar years make only four hundred and seventy-five years; and therefore the lunar years are said to be shortened, while the solar years are longer. "Over your people" — supply: to be consoled with perfect consolation. Now from these lunar years, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, the Persians held the kingdom for one hundred and eighteen years, the Macedonians for one hundred years, the Romans up to the eighteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, when the Lord suffered, held the kingdom for sixty-two years — which joined together make four hundred and ninety years. In the passion of the Lord all these things were completed, not that all these things were completed after those years, but because in those very years they were fulfilled in due order of times. And he says your people, not mine, because the people had then rejected the Lord, and the Lord the people, though in affection the Prophet considered them his own. Hosea 1:9: You are not my people, and I will not be yours. "And over your holy city" — not mine, that is; he calls it a city of Jerusalem because in it was the stronghold of the holy in the grace of God. Isaiah 26:1: Our strong city, Zion; a savior shall be set in it, etc. "That transgression may be finished" — with the completion of consumption and finishing; and he calls transgression the transgression of the first commandment, which was Adam's. Romans 3:24: Justified freely by His grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. "And sin may have an end" — that is, the power of sin, so that it may no longer rule. Romans 6:14: Sin shall not have dominion over you. And Colossians 2:14: Blotting out the handwriting of the decree that was against us. Revelation 1:5: Who loved us and washed us from our sins in His blood. "And" — that is — "iniquity may be blotted out." Isaiah 43:25: I, I myself am He that blots out your iniquities for my own sake. Psalm 51:11: Blot out all my iniquities. "And everlasting justice may be brought." Gloss: "The time of grace and the Gospel, which no other shall succeed, and which surpasses the justice of the law, as Bede says." Isaiah 45:24: Justice and empire are mine. Isaiah 53:11: By His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, and He shall bear their iniquities. "And vision may be fulfilled" — this vision, that is. Luke 22:37: What is written must be fulfilled in me. John 19:30: When Jesus had received the vinegar, He said: It is consummated. And before that, at v. 28: Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished. "And prophecy" — that is, so that henceforth one may prophesy concerning new grace yet to come. Luke 16:16: The law and the prophets until John. Matthew 11:12: From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence. Gloss: "All these things before the coming of Christ were held more in hope than in reality." 1 Corinthians 13:10: When that which is perfect has come, that which is in part shall be done away. "And the Saint of saints may be anointed." The construction is at once a demonstration of essence and a relation of causality: for He is holy in the proper sense, and He sanctifies others. 1 Corinthians 1:30: He has been made for us wisdom from God, and justice, and sanctification, and redemption. Leviticus 19:2: Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. He was anointed in three ways: at the Incarnation by the union of the divinity, at the Baptism by the vision and manifestation of the Trinity, and at the Passion by the shedding of blood. Of the first it is said, Psalm 45:7: God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows. Of the second, Isaiah 61:1: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach to the meek He has sent me. Of the third, Sirach 38:7: The perfumer makes sweet ointments, and His anointings will make for health. All these things were completed from the sixty-second week up to the completion of the seventieth: for in the thirty years — which comprise four weeks and part of a fifth — the infancy of the Savior up to the Baptism was completed; and in three and a half years His preaching was completed; and after this the Lord suffered, rose again, ascended, sent the Holy Spirit, and the preaching of the Apostles spread; and so within seventy weeks all things were completed.
Dan 9:25 "Know therefore." Here he carries out in detail what he had said in summary, showing at what time Christ was to come, when He suffered, and when He was to preach.
And this is it: "Know therefore." And because many know confusedly what they know, he adds: "And understand." Similarly, Genesis 15:13: Know beforehand. "From the going forth of the word" — not mine, but Artaxerxes's, that is — the king of the Medes, who brought forth the word of rebuilding the city to Nehemiah — and this is what follows: "that Jerusalem should be built again" — for this Artaxerxes granted at God's prompting. Psalm 51:18: Deal bountifully, O Lord, in Thy good will with Zion, that the walls of Jerusalem may be built. "Until Christ the Leader." Micah 5:2: Out of thee shall come forth unto me He that is to be the ruler in Israel. And he counts the time up to the moment when Christ showed Himself as Leader, that is, up to the Baptism — that is, up to the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, as is said in Luke 3:1. "There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks" — which joined together are sixty-nine weeks; but he divides the seven apart because within them the Angel was sent to Zechariah and the Angel to Mary, and those things concerning the infancy and youth of Christ were fulfilled; and perhaps the longing and sighing of the fathers was toward the Lord, as with Simeon and Anna. Of these the Savior lived thirty years and worked miracles; and in the other sixty-two that remain, the desires and sighs of the fathers were made manifest.
And then he adds under another verse, instructing the Prophet: "And the street shall be built again" — not after the seven and sixty-two weeks, but long before, namely under Nehemiah and Ezra and Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest, in the time of King Artaxerxes. He calls Jerusalem the street because in Greek it means broad, for he commanded the entire breadth of the city to be rebuilt, since Cyrus before him had given permission only to rebuild the temple, as is read in 1 Ezra 1:1 and following. Hence by way of explanation he adds: "and the wall in straightness of times" — for they were forced to build with one hand and to hold swords in the other for defense, as is read in Nehemiah (2 Ezra) chapters 4 and 5.
Having given the instruction about rebuilding the city, he returns to what happens after the sixty-two weeks; and this is it:
Dan 9:26 "And after sixty-two weeks" — supply: not immediately, but when the seven of which we spoke are completed, and the seventieth week has begun, when the eighteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar had already elapsed — "Christ shall be slain" — on the cross, offered to God. Isaiah 53:7: Like a sheep He shall be led to the slaughter. And at v. 5: He was wounded for our iniquities, He was bruised for our sins. "And the people that shall deny Him shall not be His" — the people of the synagogue, that is. They denied Him when they said, John 19:15: We have no king but Caesar. Hosea 1:9: You are not my people, and I will not be yours. And then he adds under another verse: "And" — supply: before Christ was slain — "a people" — the Roman, that is — "with the leader that shall come" — after the slaying of Christ, that is, with Vespasian and Titus, forty years after the passion of Christ — "shall destroy the city and the sanctuary" — that is, the already rebuilt temple. Isaiah 24:19–20: The earth shall be broken with breaking, the earth shall be crushed with crushing, the earth shall be shaken with shaking, the earth shall be moved like a drunkard. "And the end thereof" — of the land, that is — "shall be waste" — by Titus and Vespasian. Isaiah 21:2: The plunderer wastes. Jeremiah 4:7: He has gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate: thy cities shall be laid waste. "And after the end of the war" — the Roman war, that is — "the appointed" — supply: confirmed by God forever — "desolation" — supply: shall be; and then was fulfilled what was said in Isaiah 1:8: The daughter of Zion shall be left as a booth in a vineyard, and as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, and as a city that is laid waste.
And then he adds concerning the one remaining week after the seven and sixty-two, which is the last among the seventy.
And this is it:
Dan 9:27 "And He shall confirm the covenant" — Christ, that is — and he calls the covenant the establishment of the new law. Hebrews 8:8–9: I will consummate over the house of Israel and over the house of Judah a new testament: not according to the testament which I made with their fathers. "With many" — because not all received it. John 1:11–12: He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God. "For one week" — in which one remaining and last week He also suffered; for in it He preached, worked miracles, and called His disciples. "And in the half" — that is, in the middle — "of the week" — supply: the same one; for a week has seven years, and in the fourth year Christ suffered — and the fourth is the middle of seven. "The victim and the sacrifice shall fail" — that is, the virtue of victims and sacrifices; for all these died in the passion of Christ. Isaiah 1:11: Why do you offer me the multitude of your victims, says the Lord? I am full. "And there shall be in the temple" — that is, in the sacrifices and rites of the temple — "the abomination of desolation" — for from the passion of Christ they became dead, and when the faith was made public through the Apostles they became deadly, and therefore abominated and desolated. Isaiah 1:13: Incense is an abomination to me. The new moons, and the sabbaths, and other festivals I will not endure. "And unto the consummation" — supply: of the world — "and the end" — of the final judgment, that is — "shall the desolation persist" — supply: and the law of Christ shall endure. Isaiah 25:2: Thou hast made a city of strangers, that it should not be a city, and that it should not be built again for ever.
CONTINUE
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