Daniel's Prayer for His People
Daniel 9:7 "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."
unto us confusion... Hebrew: bosheth, shame, paleness (Dan. 9:7-8; 1Sam. 20:30; Ezr. 9:7; Psm. 109:29; Jer. 7:19).
Their "confusion of face" meant they did not know what to believe anymore.
unto all Israel... He prays for Judah and all Israel, far and near. The 10 tribes had been taken into Assyrian captivity 133 years before Judah (2Ki. 17:1-41).
all the countries... All Israel and Judah were scattered in all provinces of the empires of Assyria, Babylon, and Medo-Persia, and no doubt in other countries (Dan. 9:7; Est. 8:9-17; 9:1-2).
Israel had committed spiritual adultery, by worshipping the false gods of the heathen people around them. God is holy. Israel was driven out of their homeland, because they trespassed greatly against their God.
Daniel then acknowledged that God is righteous (cf. Dan. 9:14, 9:16) and just in disciplining Israel for her unfaithfulness, for which she was covered with shame (Dan. 9:7-8) and dispersed (scattered) into foreign countries.
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