Daniel 9:7-8

O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them. because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. The versions are all very close to the Massoretic text. The most important variation is Theodotion's repetition of the first clause of Daniel 9:7 at the beginning of Daniel 9:8 . Neither of the English versions brings out the contrast in the Hebrew of the second clause of Daniel 9:7 ; it is "man," not "men," of Judah. This contrast is observed by Theodotion and Jerome, but not by the LXX . or the Peshitta. These two verses have a strong resemblance to Bar. 1:15, 16, "And ye shall say, To our God belongeth righteousness, but unto us the confusion of faces, as it is come to pass this day to man of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to our kings, and to our princes, and to our priests, and to our prophets, and to our fathers." This confession is introduced into the text of Baruch as a quotation. The captives on the river Lud send money to Jerusalem for offerings and sacrifices, and with the money send certain advices. As the circumstances in which the Baruch version purports to be written do not so naturally suit the words used, we can, we think, have no difficulty in recognizing that it is not the primitive recension. The words have the look of a liturgic prayer. The relationship between the present passage and Jeremiah is close; "confusion of face" occurs in Jeremiah 7:19 as well as Ezra 9:7 . The most marked case is the collocation, "man of Judah, and inbabitants of Jerusalem." This phrase is frequent in Jeremiah; e.g Jeremiah 4:4 ; Jeremiah 11:2 ; Jeremiah 17:25 . There is also a resemblance to Ezekiel in the phrase, "their trespass that they have trespassed against thee;" e.g. Ezekiel 15:8 ; Ezekiel 20:27 . The language thus is in strict dramatic suitability to one who has just been studying the prophets of the Captivity. To our kings , to our princes. This could not be used naturally after the date of Daniel. To him who remembered kings and princes in Judah and Jerusalem, this language is natural. In the age of Epiphanes it would be absurd and meaningless. The phrase is used in the liturgic prayer in Nehemiah, because there is a narrative of the history of the people. When we compare the Psalter of Solomon, we find the only King of Israel is God: yet Alexander Jannseus, who was not long dead when that Psalter was written, had assumed the crown; and his sons had competed for the possession of it.