Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Daniel 9:5
We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
5. We have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly ] from 1Ki 8:47, with extremely slight differences, indicated in R.V. by the substitution of done for dealt, and of dealt for done. Psa 106:6 is based similarly on 1Ki 8:47.
and have turned aside from thy commandments ] Cf. Deu 17:20; Psa 119:102. ‘Even’ with the partic. is quite false; the construction of the Heb. is one with which every tyro is familiar (Gen 41:43, Exo 8:11, &c.).
judgements ] i.e. ordinances, as the word is sometimes rendered (Jos 24:25; 2Ki 17:34 ; 2Ki 17:37; Isa 58:2). Properly a judicial decision, which being made legally binding, becomes a standing ordinance; the word being then generalized, it is applied to moral and religious ordinances, as well as to statutes of the civil and criminal law, Exo 21:1). See e.g. Lev 18:4-5; Lev 18:26; Deu 4:1; Deu 4:5; Deu 4:8; Deu 4:14, &c.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
We have sinned – Though Daniel was alone, he spake in the name of the people in general – doubtless recounting the long series of crimes in the nation which had preceded the captivity, and which were the cause of the ruin of the city and temple.
And have committed iniquity … – These varied forms of expression are designed to give intensity to what he says. It is equivalent to saying that they had sinned in every way possible. The mind, in a state of true repentance, dwells on its sins, and recounts the various forms in which iniquity has been done, and multiplies expressions of regret and sorrow on account of transgression.
From thy precepts – Thy commands; thy laws.
Thy judgments – Thy laws – the word judgments in the Scripture denoting what God judges to be right for us to do, as well as what it is right for him to inflict.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
As if he had said, We are not only sinners, but our sin is wickedness aggravated to the height: thus much the gradation here intimates, by
doing wickedly and rebelling. In our confessions of sin to God there must be no mincing nor cloaking of sin, but a full and naked discovery, with selfjudging and self-abhorrence. Note here, all along after, this holy man Daniel puts himself in the number of the greatest sinners: so when we are suppliants and penitents, we must include ourselves in the general petition.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. Compare Nehemiah’s confession(Ne 9:1-38).
sinned . . . committediniquity . . . done wickedly . . . rebelleda climax. Erred inignorance . . . sinned by infirmity . . . habitually andwilfully done wickedness . . . as open and obstinate rebelsset ourselves against God.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled,…. Some think there is a gradation in these words; that they had committed some sins through error and ignorance; others through infirmity and obliquity, or in the perverseness of their spirits, and the crookedness of their ways; and others wilfully and in malice, in the wickedness of their hearts; and others were open acts of hostility against God, casting off his yoke, and refusing obedience to him, and obstinately persisting therein. Jacchiades refers them to sins of actions, words, and thoughts, which they proudly and presumptuously committed. This heap of phrases seems to be used to take in all kind of sin committed by them, and rather to exaggerate than to extenuate them, and to confess them with all their aggravated circumstances; and Daniel puts in himself among the body of the people, as being a member of it, and as well knowing he was not without sin; and therefore willingly took his part in the blame of it, in confession of it, and confusion for it:
even by departing from thy precepts, and from thy judgments; both of a moral and positive nature, which were enjoined by the law of Moses, as the rule of their conduct; but from this they swerved.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Daniel here continues his confession of sin. As we have already stated, he ought to begin here, because we must remark in general the impossibility of our pleasing God by our prayers, unless we approach him as criminals, and repose all our hopes on his mercy. But there was a special reason for the extraordinary nature of the Prophet’s prayers, and his use of fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. This was the usual method of confession by which Daniel united himself with the rest of the people, for rite purpose of testifying throughout all ages the justice of the judgment which God had exercised in expelling the Israelites from the promised land, and totally disinheriting them. Daniel, therefore, insists upon this point. Here we may notice, in the first place, how prayers are not rightly conceived, unless founded on faith and repentance, and thus not being according to law, they cannot find either grace or favor before God. But great weight is to be attached to the phrases where Daniel uses more than a single word in saying the people acted impiously. He puts חטאנו, chetanu, we have sinned, in the first place, as the word does not imply any kind of fault, but rather a serious crime or offense. We, therefore, have sinned; then we have done wickedly; afterwards we have acted impiously; for רשע, reshegn, is stronger than חטא, cheta. We have done wickedly, we have been rebellious, says he, in transgressing thy statutes and commandments Whence this copiousness of expression, unless Daniel wished to stimulate himself and the whole people to penitence? For although we are easily induced to confess ourselves guilty before God, yet scarcely one in a hundred is affected with serious remorse; and those who excel others, and purely and reverently fear God, are still very dull and cold in recounting their sins. First of all, they acknowledge scarcely one in a hundred; next, of those which do come into their minds, they do not fully estimate their tremendous guilt, but rather extenuate their magnitude; and, although they perceive themselves worthy of a hundred deaths, yet they are not touched with their bitterness, and fear to humble themselves as they ought, nay, they are scarcely displeased with themselves, and do not loathe their own iniquities. Daniel, therefore, does not accumulate so many words in vain, when he wishes to confess his own sins and those of the people. Let us learn then how far we are from penitence, while we only verbally acknowledge our guilt; then let us perceive the need we have of many incentives to rouse us up from our sloth; for although any one may feel great terrors and tremble before God’s judgments, yet all those feelings of dread vanish away too soon. It therefore becomes necessary to fix God’s fear in our hearts with some degree of violence. Daniel shews us this when using the phrase, The people have sinned; they have acted unjustly; they have conducted themselves wickedly and become rebellious, and declined from the statutes and commandments of God This doctrine, therefore, must be diligently noticed, because, as I have said, all men think they have discharged their duty to God, if they mildly profess themselves guilty before him, and acknowledge their fault in a single word. But as real repentance is a sacred thing, it is a matter of far greater moment than a fiction of this kind. Although the multitude do not perceive how they are only deceiving themselves when they confess a fault, yet in the meantime they are only trifling with God like children, while some say they are but men, and others shelter themselves in the crowd of offenders. “What could I do? I am but a man; I have only followed the example of the many.” Lastly, if we examine carefully the confessions of men in. general, we shall always find some latent hypocrisy, and that there are very few who prostrate themselves before God as they ought. We must understand, therefore, this confession of Daniel’s as stimulating himself and others to the fear of God, and as laying great stress upon the sins of the people, that every one may feel for himself real and serious alarms.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) We have sinned.It has been remarked that four stages of sin are pointed out by the prophet, corresponding to the four different words which he uses. Sin refers especially to sins of deed, committing iniquity to sins of word, done wickedly to sins of thought, rebelled implies the person against whom the sin has been committed. The whole result of sin under these several aspects is expressed by the words departing from Thy precepts.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
“We have sinned and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly and have rebelled, even turning aside from your precepts and from your judgments.”
Daniel here identifies himself with his people. Note the multiplying of words to express sinfulness; wandered from the right way, behaved unrighteously, falling short of God’s requirements, doing wickedly by following that which was positively known to be wrong, acting in rebellion against God, and a deliberate turning aside from His Law as revealed in the Scriptures. Yet he no doubt felt its truth about himself deeply. None are more conscious of sin than the truly righteous.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Dan 9:5. We have sinned, and have committed iniquity Daniel here puts up the confession prescribed in Solomon’s consecration-prayer, to be used by the Jews in the land of their captivity.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Dan 9:5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
Ver. 5. We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled. ] Mark how full in the mouth the good prophet is, and how he exaggerateth, confessing against himself and his people, laying on load. Good men extenuate not their offences; every sin swelleth as a toad in their eyes.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
We. Note that Daniel associates himself with his People. Compare Neh 1; and Dan 9:33-38. Ezr 9:5-15.
wickedly = lawlessly. Hebrew. rasha, App-44.
rebelled = revolted. Hebrew. marad. Usually of revolt against Deity or royalty.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Dan 9:5
Dan 9:5 We have sinned,H2398 and have committed iniquity,H5753 and have done wickedly,H7561 and have rebelled,H4775 even by departingH5493 from thy preceptsH4480 H4687 and from thy judgments:H4480 H4941
Dan 9:5
“We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments”
Daniel well knew the law of Moses and he has demonstrated this numerous times throughout his writings. This confession of sin to God is not something that Daniel dreamed up on his own. In Leviticus chapter 26, God gave a warning to the Israelites through the hand of Moses that is an unmistakable parallel to exactly what happened in the Babylonian conquest and captivity. Starting in verse 15 of Leviticus, Moses wrote, “And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you…” Moses went on from there in a lengthy discourse which spelled out the fate of the nation of Israel if she departed from the commandments of God. The language written has the imagery of the Babylonian captivity woven entirely throughout the context. The parallels between what was warned against and what happened are too apparent not to draw a comparison between the two. Following the descriptive warning of what would befall the Israelites, Moses wrote the condition that had to be met in order to bring an end to their suffering for their rebellion against God. Starting in verse 40 of Leviticus chapter 26 we read the following:
Lev 26:40-42
“If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.”
Daniel knew the 70 years was almost up and he knew that God required confession of sin in order to remember His covenant with the fathers of the Israelite nation. This confession of guilt was something Daniel knew had to be accomplished. God gave the remedy and Daniel was diligently applying himself to the observance of that condition which had to be met in order for the Israelites to return to the favor of God and get the opportunity to go home and rebuild their city and their temple. Daniel was a righteous and upright man and without a doubt innocent of idolatry which doomed the Israelites to captivity in Babylon, but when praying on behalf of the entire Israelite nation, he used the term “we”. Israel as a nation was guilty of sin and Israel as a nation had to confess their iniquity if they were to be remembered and receive God’s mercy. Daniel was praying on behalf of his people, acknowledging and accepting the guilt for their transgressions.
It goes without saying that Daniel was not the only member of the Israelite nation praying this prayer of confession. One person did not get Israel into their predicament and one person would not be able to pray them out of it. Israel was a broken and contrite nation with their hearts well prepared for the confession of their sin.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
have sinned: Dan 9:15, 1Ki 8:47-50, 2Ch 6:37-39, Ezr 9:6, Neh 1:6-8, Neh 9:33, Neh 9:34, Psa 106:6, Isa 64:5-7, Jer 3:25, Jer 14:7
departing: Psa 18:21, Psa 119:102, Isa 59:13, Eze 6:9, Hos 1:2, Mal 3:7, Heb 3:12
Reciprocal: Exo 32:31 – sinned Num 14:9 – Only rebel 2Ki 21:15 – since the day 2Ki 22:13 – great Ezr 5:12 – But after Ezr 9:7 – Since the days Neh 1:7 – dealt Job 40:4 – Behold Psa 5:10 – they Isa 1:23 – princes Isa 24:2 – as with the people Isa 24:5 – because Isa 59:12 – we know Jer 14:20 – We acknowledge Jer 19:4 – they have Jer 44:3 – of their Jer 44:9 – ye forgotten Jer 44:17 – our fathers Lam 3:42 – transgressed Eze 2:3 – rebelled Eze 12:2 – thou Eze 12:16 – that they Eze 14:13 – when Eze 39:24 – General Dan 9:4 – made Dan 9:9 – though Hos 2:5 – hath done Amo 2:4 – because Zep 1:17 – because Zec 7:11 – they refused Mal 2:8 – ye are Luk 13:9 – if not Luk 18:13 – God Eph 2:3 – we
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Dan 9:5. We have sinned is to be understood in the same light as “confession” in the preceding verse. Have sinned is made more specific by the words departing from thy precepts; forsaking a law is the same as disobeying it.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Dan 9:5. We have sinned, and have committed iniquity Daniel uses the same confession here that is prescribed, in Solomons consecration prayer, to be used by the Jews in the land of their captivity; with a promise subjoined, of a favourable answer that God would make to their supplications presented to him on such an occasion: see the margin. And being one of the Jewish nation, he speaks of their sins as his own; and, though certainly a most holy man, puts himself among the greatest sinners. There seems to be a kind of gradation in the prophets confessions here, beginning with sins in general, and rising to rebellion and apostacy.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Daniel stressed God’s transcendence and His loyal love (Heb. hesed) to Israel in his salutation (Dan 9:4). He then proceeded to point out that, in contrast to Yahweh’s faithfulness to Israel, Israel had been unfaithful to Him. The prophet identified with his people. Personally he had been faithful to God. Yet since he was an Israelite he partook of the blessings and curses that God sent Israel for her obedience and disobedience (cf. Deu 28:48-57; Deu 28:64-68).
"What made Daniel one of God’s greatest saints was not his sinlessness but his sensitivity to the true depth of his sin." [Note: Whitcomb, p. 123.]
He listed several of Israel’s sins first: positive transgressions (Dan 9:5) and then negative omissions (Dan 9:6). Note the progression in the description of sin in Dan 9:5. Evidently Daniel wanted to confess all the nation’s sins of every kind to their full extent. [Note: Stuart, p. 258.] Especially sinful was the fact that all classes within Israel had disregarded God’s words to them through His prophets (cf. 2Ch 30:10). To disregard God’s Word is "the beginning of all moral disorders." [Note: Leupold, p. 384.]