18 Please show mercy to your chosen city, not because we deserve it, but because of your great kindness.
19 Forgive us! Hurry and do something, not only for your city and your chosen people, but to bring honour to yourself.
20 I was still confessing my sins and those of all Israel to the Lord my God, and I was praying for the good of his holy mountain,
21 when Gabriel suddenly came flying in at the time of the evening sacrifice. This was the same Gabriel I had seen in my vision,
22 and he explained:Daniel, I am here to help you understand the vision.
23 God thinks highly of you, and at the very moment you started praying, I was sent to give you the answer.
24 God has decided that for seventy weeks, your people and your holy city must suffer as the price of their sins. Then evil will disappear, and justice will rule for ever; the visions and words of the prophets will come true, and a most holy place will be dedicated.