Daniel 9:8

O LORD, we are covered with shame—our kings, our leaders, and our fathers—because we have sinned against You.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Daniel speaks as a corporate representative, addressing Yahweh directly during a national confession of guilt. The prayer follows the exile of Judah, Jerusalem, and Israel to foreign lands due to their unfaithfulness.

The words — בֹּשֶׁת (boshet) means "shame" and pairs with פָּנִים (panim, "faces") to describe being covered in disgrace. חָטָאנוּ (chatanu) translates to "we have sinned," directly attributing the collective shame to deliberate transgression.

The thread — The confession of failed kings, leaders, and fathers mirrors Daniel 9:6, which records the people's refusal to listen to the prophets. Jeremiah 14:20 parallels this pattern by acknowledging ancestral guilt and national sin against God.

Why it lands — The text states that corporate disgrace results from specific, confessed disobedience. It requires readers to acknowledge their own complicity in the failures of their leaders and ancestors before expecting divine intervention.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

יְהוָ֗הYah.wehO Yahwehלָ֚נוּLa./nu[belongs] to/ usבֹּ֣שֶׁתBo.shet[the] shame of הַפָּנִ֔יםha./pa.Nimthe/ faces לִמְלָכֵ֥ינוּli/m.la.Khei./nuto/ kings/ our לְשָׂרֵ֖ינוּle./sa.Rei./nuto/ leaders/ our וְלַאֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּve./la./'a.vo.Tei./nuand/ to/ ancestors/ our אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherthat חָטָ֖אנוּcha.Ta.nuwe have sinnedלָֽךְ׃La/khto/ you

King James Version

O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

Cross-references

Daniel 9:6 We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, fathers, and all the people of the land.
Jeremiah 14:20 We acknowledge our wickedness, O LORD, the guilt of our fathers; indeed, we have sinned against You.
Lamentations 1:7 In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands she received no help. Her enemies looked upon her, laughing at her downfall.
Lamentations 1:18 The LORD is righteous, yet I rebelled against His command. Listen, all you people; look upon my suffering. My young men and maidens have gone into captivity.
Lamentations 3:42 “We have sinned and rebelled; You have not forgiven.”
Lamentations 5:16 The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!