The Meaning of Daniel 9:20 Explained

Daniel 9:20

KJV: And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;

YLT: And while I am speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and causing my supplication to fall before Jehovah my God, for the holy mount of my God,

Darby: And whilst I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Jehovah my God for the holy mountain of my God;

ASV: And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Jehovah my God for the holy mountain of my God;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And whiles I [was] speaking,  and praying,  and confessing  my sin  and the sin  of my people  Israel,  and presenting  my supplication  before  the LORD  my God  for the holy  mountain  of my God; 

What does Daniel 9:20 Mean?

Context Summary

Daniel 9:16-27 - Renewed Favor In God's Own Time
Daniel 9:17-19 have in them a tone of anguish which reminds us of our Lord's words as to the violence which takes the kingdom of heaven by force. God loves to see us in dead earnest. It is not long but strong prayers that prevail with Him. He sometimes seems to deny us, that He may draw us out in supplication. Notice the response to such prayer. Before it was spoken, it was granted, Daniel 9:23. Before Daniel called, he was answered, and while he was yet speaking, he was heard. Pray on! God is more eager to hear and to bless us than we are to pray. Even now the divine answer is hastening towards thee, swifter than the speed of the morning beams across the vault of space. While we are speaking in prayer, nay, before the beginning of our supplication, the angel is sent out, and he is made to fly very swiftly. Six purposes were to be effected within 490 years from a specified date. Some refer these to final Jewish restoration, but for this the last week of the seventy has to be separated from the rest and postponed till "the end of the age." It is more natural to understand the passage as describing here Christ's finished work, and thus we avoid impairing the definiteness of the prophecy by indefinitely prolonging it. "The prince that shall come" seems to refer to the Roman emperor, Vespasian, whose people destroyed Jerusalem. But many think that Daniel 9:27 refers to a future compact between Antichrist and the Jews, previous to their conversion. [source]

Chapter Summary: Daniel 9

1  Daniel, considering the time of the captivity,
3  makes confession of sins,
16  and prays for the restoration of Jerusalem
20  Gabriel informs him of the seventy weeks

What do the individual words in Daniel 9:20 mean?

And while I [was] speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my supplication before Yahweh my God for the mountain of holy my God
וְע֨וֹד אֲנִ֤י מְדַבֵּר֙ וּמִתְפַּלֵּ֔ל וּמִתְוַדֶּה֙ חַטָּאתִ֔י וְחַטַּ֖את עַמִּ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וּמַפִּ֣יל תְּחִנָּתִ֗י לִפְנֵי֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהַ֔י עַ֖ל הַר־ קֹ֥דֶשׁ אֱלֹהָֽי

וְע֨וֹד  And  while 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: עֹוד  
Sense: a going round, continuance adv.
מְדַבֵּר֙  [was]  speaking 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
וּמִתְפַּלֵּ֔ל  and  praying 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hitpael, Participle, masculine singular
Root: פָּלַל 
Sense: to intervene, interpose, pray.
וּמִתְוַדֶּה֙  and  confessing 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hitpael, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָדָה 
Sense: to throw, shoot, cast.
חַטָּאתִ֔י  my  sin 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: חַטָּאָה 
Sense: sin, sinful.
וְחַטַּ֖את  and  the  sin 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: חַטָּאָה 
Sense: sin, sinful.
עַמִּ֣י  of  my  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
וּמַפִּ֣יל  and  presenting 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: נָפַל  
Sense: to fall, lie, be cast down, fail.
תְּחִנָּתִ֗י  my  supplication 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: תְּחִנָּה  
Sense: favour, supplication, supplication for favour.
לִפְנֵי֙  before 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
יְהוָ֣ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱלֹהַ֔י  my  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
הַר־  the  mountain 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
קֹ֥דֶשׁ  of  holy 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: קֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness.
אֱלֹהָֽי  my  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).