The Meaning of Daniel 9:26 Explained

Daniel 9:26

KJV: And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

YLT: And after the sixty and two weeks, cut off is Messiah, and the city and the holy place are not his, the Leader who hath come doth destroy the people; and its end is with a flood, and till the end is war, determined are desolations.

Darby: And after the sixty-two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, and shall have nothing; and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with an overflow, and unto the end, war, the desolations determined.

ASV: And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and shall have nothing: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And after  threescore  and two  weeks  shall Messiah  be cut off,  but not for himself: and the people  of the prince  that shall come  shall destroy  the city  and the sanctuary;  and the end  thereof [shall be] with a flood,  and unto the end  of the war  desolations  are determined. 

What does Daniel 9:26 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Most Christian interpreters have taken the cutting off of Messiah as a reference to Jesus Christ"s death. He had nothing then in a very real sense.
The prince who will come seems to be a different person from the Messiah. A legitimate translation is "the people of a ruler who will come." [1] His people, not he himself, would destroy the city. This happened in A.D70 when the Roman army under Titus leveled Jerusalem. The prince who will come, however, was evidently not Titus but a future ruler, namely, the Antichrist ( Daniel 7:8). Titus made no covenant with the Jews ( Daniel 9:27). However, Titus did initially what this prince will do ultimately. Jerusalem did not end because of a literal flood of water in Titus" day, but Roman soldiers overwhelmed it (cf. Daniel 11:10; Daniel 11:22; Daniel 11:26; Daniel 11:40; Isaiah 8:8). War preceded the destruction. Gabriel announced that God had determined the city"s desolation (cf. Matthew 24:7-22).
Some interpreters believe that the end of this verse describes conditions that have followed Titus" destruction and continue even today. [2] Others think it only describes what Titus did. [3]

Context Summary

Daniel 9:16-27 - Renewed Favor In God's Own Time
Daniel 9:17-19 have in them a tone of anguish which reminds us of our Lord's words as to the violence which takes the kingdom of heaven by force. God loves to see us in dead earnest. It is not long but strong prayers that prevail with Him. He sometimes seems to deny us, that He may draw us out in supplication. Notice the response to such prayer. Before it was spoken, it was granted, Daniel 9:23. Before Daniel called, he was answered, and while he was yet speaking, he was heard. Pray on! God is more eager to hear and to bless us than we are to pray. Even now the divine answer is hastening towards thee, swifter than the speed of the morning beams across the vault of space. While we are speaking in prayer, nay, before the beginning of our supplication, the angel is sent out, and he is made to fly very swiftly. Six purposes were to be effected within 490 years from a specified date. Some refer these to final Jewish restoration, but for this the last week of the seventy has to be separated from the rest and postponed till "the end of the age." It is more natural to understand the passage as describing here Christ's finished work, and thus we avoid impairing the definiteness of the prophecy by indefinitely prolonging it. "The prince that shall come" seems to refer to the Roman emperor, Vespasian, whose people destroyed Jerusalem. But many think that Daniel 9:27 refers to a future compact between Antichrist and the Jews, previous to their conversion. [source]

Chapter Summary: Daniel 9

1  Daniel, considering the time of the captivity,
3  makes confession of sins,
16  and prays for the restoration of Jerusalem
20  Gabriel informs him of the seventy weeks

What do the individual words in Daniel 9:26 mean?

And after the weeks sixty and two shall be cut off Messiah but not for Himself and the city and the sanctuary shall destroy the people of the prince who is to come and the end of it [shall be] with a flood and till the end of the war are determined desolations
וְאַחֲרֵ֤י הַשָּׁבֻעִים֙ שִׁשִּׁ֣ים וּשְׁנַ֔יִם יִכָּרֵ֥ת מָשִׁ֖יחַ וְאֵ֣ין ל֑וֹ וְהָעִ֨יר וְהַקֹּ֜דֶשׁ יַ֠שְׁחִית עַ֣ם נָגִ֤יד הַבָּא֙ וְקִצּ֣וֹ בַשֶּׁ֔טֶף וְעַד֙ קֵ֣ץ מִלְחָמָ֔ה נֶחֱרֶ֖צֶת שֹׁמֵמֽוֹת

וְאַחֲרֵ֤י  And  after 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: אַחַר 
Sense: after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time).
הַשָּׁבֻעִים֙  the  weeks 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁבוּעַ 
Sense: seven, period of seven (days or years), heptad, week.
שִׁשִּׁ֣ים  sixty 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: שִׁשִּׁים  
Sense: sixty, three score.
וּשְׁנַ֔יִם  and  two 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, md
Root: שְׁנַיִם  
Sense: two.
יִכָּרֵ֥ת  shall  be  cut  off 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּרַת  
Sense: to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant.
מָשִׁ֖יחַ  Messiah 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: מָשִׁיחַ  
Sense: anointed, anointed one.
וְאֵ֣ין  but  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
ל֑וֹ  for  Himself 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
וְהָעִ֨יר  and  the  city 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
וְהַקֹּ֜דֶשׁ  and  the  sanctuary 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness.
יַ֠שְׁחִית  shall  destroy 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁחַת  
Sense: to destroy, corrupt, go to ruin, decay.
עַ֣ם  the  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
נָגִ֤יד  of  the  prince 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָגִיד  
Sense: leader, ruler, captain, prince.
הַבָּא֙  who  is  to  come 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
וְקִצּ֣וֹ  and  the  end  of  it  [shall  be] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: קֵץ  
Sense: end.
בַשֶּׁ֔טֶף  with  a  flood 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֶׁטֶף  
Sense: flood, downpour.
וְעַד֙  and  till 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
קֵ֣ץ  the  end 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֵץ  
Sense: end.
מִלְחָמָ֔ה  of  the  war 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִלְחָמָה  
Sense: battle, war.
נֶחֱרֶ֖צֶת  are  determined 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Participle, feminine singular
Root: חָרוּץ 
Sense: to cut, sharpen, decide, decree, determine, maim, move, be decisive, be mutilated.
שֹׁמֵמֽוֹת  desolations 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine plural
Root: שָׁמֵם  
Sense: to be desolate, be appalled, stun, stupefy.