Verse Lens · Concise explanation

Daniel 9:3 Explained in Context

Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.

Selected verse

Verse 3. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions

Quick Meaning

Daniel 9:3 completes this movement with “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with…”.

Jeremiah's seventy years become prayer, not arithmetic first

This verse is one part of that explanation in Daniel 9:1-3. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.

Read It With

  • Daniel 9:1–3

Read Daniel 9:3 with 9:1–3. Daniel 9:3 completes this movement with “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with…”. The complete unit establishes this movement: Daniel reads Jeremiah's desolation period and turns toward God with prayer, fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

Why This Verse Appears Here

The chapter joins Scripture reading, accountable prayer, and a difficult chronological revelation, preventing arithmetic from being detached from confession, city, sanctuary, and covenant. “Jeremiah's Seventy Years Prompt Prayer” opens that larger movement. Its final verse prepares “Confession Holds Covenant Mercy and Communal Wrong Together” in 9:4-14. Within that movement: Daniel 9:3 completes this movement with “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with…”.

What Remains True

Hopeful reading of Scripture belongs with confession, mercy, justice, and patient uncertainty rather than mastery through arithmetic. Daniel 9:1-3 keeps that truth tied to this claim: Daniel reads Jeremiah's desolation period and turns toward God with prayer, fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. In this unit: Daniel 9:3 completes this movement with “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with…”.

Continue in Context

Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.

Read Daniel 9:1-3 — Jeremiah's Seventy Years Prompt Prayer
Sources used for this Verse Lens

How certain is this explanation? strong

These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.

Exact location: Daniel 9:1-3, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew aramaic text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Daniel

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew-Aramaic wording, morphology, language boundary, names, repeated roots, clauses, and lexical controls.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Dan.xml, 9:1-3; Hebrew 1:1–2:4a and 8:1–12:13, Aramaic 2:4b–7:28

Open source ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible: Daniel with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2006

Supports: Verse-level Hebrew-Aramaic, textual, historical, translation, chronology, angelic-language, and duration notes.

Exact location: NET Bible Daniel PDF, printed pp. 1662–1664, translation and translator notes on 9:1-3

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