Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Daniel 9:9
To the Lord our God [belong] mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
9. mercies ] The word often rendered ‘tender mercies’ (Psa 25:6; Psa 40:11, &c.). The cognate verb and adj. are often rendered by have compassion on (e.g. Isa 49:15), and full of compassion (e.g. Psa 78:38). Compassion would be the best word to adopt uniformly for this word and its cognates.
forgivenesses ] Psa 130:4, ‘With thee is forgiveness’; and Neh 9:17, ‘a God of forgivenesses.’
though ] because or for. The clause explains how it is that there is need for the exercise of forgiveness by God.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses – Not only does righteousness belong to him in the sense that he has done right, and that he cannot be blamed for what he has done, but mercy and forgiveness belong to him in the sense that he only can pardon, and that these are attributes of his nature.
Though we have rebelled against him – The word used here and rendered though ( ky) may mean either though or for. That is, the passage may mean that mercy belongs to God, and we may hope that he will show it, although we have been so evil and rebellious; or it may mean that it belongs to him, and he only can show it, for we have rebelled against him; that is, our only hope now is in his mercy, for we have sinned, and forfeited all claims to his favor. Either of these interpretations makes good sense, but the latter would seem to be most in accordance with the general strain of this part of the prayer, which is to make humble and penitent confession. So the Latin Vulgate quia. So Theodotion, hoti. So Luther and Lengerke, denn. In the same way, the passage in Psa 25:11 is rendered, For thy names sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for ( ky) it is great – though this passage will admit of the other interpretation, although it is great.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 9. Mercies and forgivenesses] From God’s goodness flow God’s mercies; from his mercies, forgivenesses.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
How did God show himself merciful, when he punished them so severely?
Answ.
1. Because it was less than their sin deserved, for it was rebellion.
2. Because their punishment was Gods chastisement, which to his people is an act of love and mercy, as you see, Heb 12:6-9.
3. Because God preserved them in their captivity, and delivered them from it. They therefore that pray to God under their sin and misery must eye Gods mercies, as well as his justice, Psa 2:1; 130:4. For as the one doth east them down, so the other bears them up, and gives them hope; or else we might he swallowed up of too much sorrow and despair, 2Co 2:7,11, wherein Satan would be too hard for us, as well as in dedolency or want of godly sorrow.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. merciesThe pluralintensifies the force; mercy manifold and exhibited in countlessways. As it is humbling to recollect “righteousnessbelongeth unto God,” so it is comforting, that “merciesbelong to the Lord OURGod.”
though we haverebelledrather, “since,” &c. [Vulgate],(Ps 25:11). Our punishment isnot inconsistent with His “mercies,” since we haverebelled against Him.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses,…. Mercy is his nature, and what he delights in; it is abundant, and he is plenteous in it the fountain of mercy is with him, and numerous are the streams which flow from it, called “the multitude of his tender mercies”; all temporal favours spring from hence, and so do all spiritual blessings, the sure mercies of David; and particularly the forgiveness of sin, which is the Lord’s prerogative, and is according to the tender mercies of our God, and the riches of his grace; and is of all sins, and of all sorts of sinners; he doth abundantly pardon all that apply to him for it, and forgives all trespasses; see Ps 130:4:
though we have rebelled against him: there is mercy with the Lord, and forgiveness with him, even for rebellious ones; which is an exaggeration and illustration of his pardoning grace and mercy: or, “for we have sinned against him” g; so that it is a plain case that he is merciful and has forgiven our iniquities, since he has spared us, and not destroyed us, and now is about to put an end to our captivity, according to his promise; and if he had not mercy on us, and did not forgive our sins, we must perish in them, and there would be no hope of salvation for us.
g “quia rebellavimus”, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus, Cocceius, Michaelis.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Daniel here betakes himself to God’s mercy as to a sacred asylum; for it is not sufficient to acknowledge and confess our sins, unless we are supported by a confidence of our obtaining pardon from God’s mercy. We see numbers who use great prolixity in bearing witness to the truth, that they richly deserve all kinds of punishment; but no good result arises from this, because despair overwhelms them and plunges them into an abyss. Recognition of a fault is in truth without the slightest profit, unless with the addition of the hope of pardon. Daniel, therefore, after candidly confessing the treatment which the whole people had received from God to have been deserved, although so severe and harsh, still embraces his pity. According to the common saying, this is like a drowning man catching at a straw. We observe also how David makes use of the same principle. There is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. (Psa 130:4.) And this moderation must be diligently marked, because Satan either lulls us into torpid security, or else so agitates us as utterly to absorb our minds in sorrow. These two artifices of Satan are sufficiently known to us. Hence that moderation which I have mentioned must be maintained, lest we should grow torpid in the midst of our vices, and so indulge in contempt of God as to induce forget-fullness of him. Then, on the other hand, we ought not to be frightened, and thus close against us the gate of hope and pardon. Daniel, therefore, here follows the best arrangement, and prescribes the same rule for us. For, in confessing the people’s wickedness, he does not entirely throw away the hope of pardon, but supports himself and others with this consolation — God is merciful. He rests this hope of pardon on the very nature of God; as if he had said, there is nothing so peculiar to God as pity, and hence we ought never to despair. To God, says he, belong mercies and forgiveness. No doubt Daniel took this phrase from Moses, especially from that remarkable and memorable passage where God pronounces himself a severe avenger, yet full of mercy, inclined to clemency and pardon, and exercising much forbearance. (Exo 34:6.) As, therefore, Daniel held the impossibility of God putting away his affectionate feelings of pity, he takes this as the main point of his teaching, and it becomes the chief foundation for his hopes and his petition for pardon. He argues thus, To God belong loving kindnesses; therefore, as he can never deny himself, he will always be merciful. This attribute is inseparable from his eternal essence; and however we have rebelled against him, yet he will never either cast away nor disdain our prayers.
We may conclude from this passage that no prayers are lawful or rightly composed unless they consist of these two members. First, all who approach God ought to cast themselves down before him, and to acknowledge themselves deserving of a thousand deaths; next, to enable them to emerge from the abyss of despair, and to raise themselves to the hope of pardon, they should call upon God without fear or doubt, and with firm and stable confidence. This reliance upon God can have no other support than the nature of God himself, and to this he has borne ample testimony. With respect to the close of the verse, it may be explained in two ways: Because, or although, we are rebellious against him. I have stated that I rather approve of taking the particle כי, ki, in the sense of opposition. Although we have rebelled against God, still he will be entreated, and never will be unmindful of his pity. If any one prefers taking it in a causal sense, it will suit tolerably well; as if Daniel had said, the people have no other hope left but the mercy of God, as they have been convicted of sin over and over again. Because we have acted wickedly towards him, what is left for us but to throw ourselves with all our trust upon the clemency and goodness of God, since he has borne witness to his being propitious to sinners who truly and heartily implore his favor? It now follows: —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
9. Though we have rebelled R.V., “for we have rebelled.” The phrase might even be read, “because we have rebelled.” (Compare Psa 25:15.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him, nor have we obeyed the voice of YHWH our God, to walk in his laws which he set before us by his servants the prophets.”
He declares that YHWH is the compassionate and forgiving One. This is literally ‘compassions and forgivenesses’. The thought is of God’s continual acts of compassion and forgiveness, resulting from the fact of His compassion and His willingness to forgive.
Had it not been for His compassion and forgiveness they would have been totally destroyed, for they had rebelled against Him, they had not obeyed His voice, and they had not walked in His laws which had been fully explained to them by God’s servants the prophets. They were thus without excuse.
We can apply the same idea to ourselves. Before we point the finger at Israel we must look at our own lives.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Dan 9:9 To the Lord our God [belong] mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
Ver. 9. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses. ] Matchless mercies, pardons ready prepared for poor penitents, not for proud Pharisees, such as Bellarmine was, if at least it be true that is reported of him, that when the priest came to absolve him, he could not remember any particular sin to confess, till he went back in his thoughts as far as his youth. Vae hominum vitae quantumvis laudabili, saith an ancient: Woe to the best, unless they may find mercy with the Lord. And Fuligat telleth us that Bellarmine, when he came to die indeed, begged of God to reckon him among his saints, non aestimator meriti, sed veniae largitor, not weighing his merits, but pardoning his offences.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.
mercies = compassions.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Dan 9:9
Dan 9:9 To the LordH136 our GodH430 belong merciesH7356 and forgivenesses,H5547 thoughH3588 we have rebelledH4775 against him;
Dan 9:9
“To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him”
Paul wrote that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). Spiritual death is what is in the view of Paul in that particular context. The Israelites in the Babylonian captivity were experiencing a added measure of suffering in addition to the penalty of spiritual death that all will receive if they die in a lost or fallen state. God’s purpose with the captivity was to bring His people to repentance so that they would not have to suffer eternal spiritual death. It may not have seemed like it to the Israelites at the time, but God, through His chastisement of them was being merciful. He could have simply left them to their fate but He chose to act in such a way that would bring them back into His favor. He warned then through the prophets and that didn’t work, therefore out of His mercy for them, He chose a more direct approach. Daniel was appealing to God’s mercy and forgiveness for the relief of their earthly suffering. God’s punishment of the nation of Israel was harsh to say the least, but pales to insignificance in the face of permanent spiritual death for which there is no mercy and no forgiveness.
Mercy and forgiveness do indeed belong to God. For there is no other source for it other than Him. The soul who would avoid spiritual death and eternal punishment must seek mercy and forgiveness from the one source where it can be found. Even the rebellious can seek and find mercy and forgiveness at any time if they will but seek God with an honest heart, trust and obey Him.
“though we have rebelled against him”
This is the third time Daniel has mentioned the sin of Israel and he is not finished yet. The Israelites were guilty of trespassing against God (Dan 9:7), sinning against God (Dan 9:8), and now in Dan 9:9 we see rebellion against God. In Dan 9:10-11 we will see yet two more terms used to illustrate their sin.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
To the Lord: From God’s goodness flow His mercies; and from His mercies, forgiveness. Dan 9:7, Exo 34:6, Exo 34:7, Num 14:18, Num 14:19, Neh 9:17, Neh 9:31, Psa 62:12, Psa 86:5, Psa 86:15, Psa 130:4, Psa 130:7, Psa 145:8, Psa 145:9, Isa 55:7, Isa 63:7, Lam 3:22, Lam 3:23, Jon 4:2, Mic 7:18, Mic 7:19, Eph 1:6-8, Eph 2:4-7
though: Dan 9:5, Neh 9:18, Neh 9:19, Neh 9:26-28, Psa 106:43-45, Jer 14:7, Eze 20:8, Eze 20:9, Eze 20:13
Reciprocal: Gen 32:10 – not worthy of the least of all Num 14:9 – Only rebel Psa 5:10 – they Psa 31:16 – save Psa 51:1 – O God Psa 79:9 – purge Psa 116:5 – Gracious Lam 1:18 – for I Mar 2:7 – who Luk 5:21 – Who can Luk 18:13 – God 2Co 1:3 – the Father of mercies Eph 1:7 – the forgiveness Jam 5:11 – the Lord is
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
MERCIES AND FORGIVENESSES
Do the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against Him.
Dan 9:9
And what is God? A Being Whose essence is love. Pity makes His bosom a home. Gentleness dwells with Him. Judgment is His strange work. He waits to be gracious. He is a Father still; and though we have rebelled against Him, to Him belongeth mercies and forgivenesses, and they cannot be alienated in that heart from any creature He has ever made!
I. It is a true and beautiful ordermercies and forgivenesses.Mercy is the fountainforgiveness is the stream. The fountain is perennial, and the stream flows on for ever.
Mercy isso the word means,Mercy is a heart for misery; and the greater the misery, the larger is mercys scope. And sinnersonly sinnerscan claim it. For the promises are all to sinners, and the extent of the sin is the argument for the greatness of the pardonjust as the virulence of a disease is the plea for the strength of the antidote. Pardon mine iniquity, for it is great.
And forgiveness. It is a free thing. If it could be bought, if it could be deserved, it would cease to be forgiveness. It is the spontaneous action of a self-creating affection. It is mercys firstborn!
And see how richly and lavishly God places both in their plurality. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses.
The sins are multitudesthe mercies and forgivenesses are multitudes. But the last are greater than the former. For the sins are legion, but they are finite, because they are mans sins; the mercies and forgivenesses are not finite, they are infinitefor they are Gods mercies and forgivenesses.
Is not it exactly what we needunlimited mercies in unnumbered pardons?
II. There can be only one objection to thisIs it just?It is just. The same mind which planned the mercy has provided for its justice. He found the ransom. And the Substitute paid the penalty, and the punishment is over. So that God does but remit a cancelled debt: Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. And so the wise mans word is true, even to the Great Ruler of the universe: Mercy and truth preserve the King; and His throne is upholden by mercy.
The means, then, are the simplest, and they are to our hand; and the result is sure. Only believe. Then look up. Then look up, with lowly confidence, and with a faith which smiles through its tears, on those wounds, and on Him Who hangs there. And then look back for your burden; you wont find it; it is gone!
Rev. Jas. Vaughan.
Illustration
To no other, but to God only, belongeth mercy. If any man has mercy, in any degree, it came from God. And His is so infinitely great, above all other, and so incomparable, that all other is not to be named. Gods mercy stands out alone. To Him belongeth mercy.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Dan 9:9. The justice of God had been poured out upon the rebellious nation in the 70-year captivity that was Just ended. Now the prophet is praying for the mercy and forgiveness that can come only from the same God.