Daniel 9:20-27
New English Translation
Gabriel Gives to Daniel a Prophecy of Seventy Weeks
20 While I was still speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my request before the Lord my God concerning his holy mountain[a]— 21 yes, while I was still praying,[b] the man Gabriel, whom I had seen previously[c] in a vision, was approaching me in my state of extreme weariness,[d] around the time of the evening offering. 22 He spoke with me, instructing me as follows:[e] “Daniel, I have now come to impart understanding to you. 23 At the beginning of your requests a message went out, and I have come to convey it to you, for you are of great value in God’s sight.[f] Therefore consider the message and understand the vision:[g]
24 “Seventy weeks[h] have been determined
concerning your people and your holy city
to put an end to[i] rebellion,
to bring sin[j] to completion,[k]
to atone for iniquity,
to bring in perpetual[l] righteousness,
to seal up[m] the prophetic vision,[n]
and to anoint a Most Holy Place.[o]
25 So know and understand:
From the issuing of the command[p] to restore and rebuild
Jerusalem until an anointed one, a prince arrives,[q]
there will be a period of seven weeks[r] and sixty-two weeks.
It will again be built,[s] with plaza and moat,
but in distressful times.
26 Now after the sixty-two weeks,
an anointed one will be cut off and have nothing.[t]
As for the city and the sanctuary,
the people of the coming prince will destroy[u] them.
But his end will come speedily[v] like a flood.[w]
Until the end of the war that has been decreed
there will be destruction.
27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one week.[x]
But in the middle of that week
he will bring sacrifices and offerings to a halt.
On the wing[y] of abominations will come[z] one who destroys,
until the decreed end is poured out on the one who destroys.”
Footnotes
- Daniel 9:20 tn Heb “the holy mountain of my God.”
- Daniel 9:21 tn Heb “speaking in prayer.”
- Daniel 9:21 tn Heb “in the beginning.”
- Daniel 9:21 tn The Hebrew expression בִּיעָף מֻעָף (muʿaf biʿaf) is very difficult. The issue is whether the verb derives from עוּף (ʿuf, “to fly”) or from יָעַף (yaʿaf, “to be weary”). Many ancient versions and modern commentators take the first of these possibilities and understand the reference to be to the swift flight of the angel Gabriel in his coming to Daniel. The words more likely refer to the extreme weariness, not of the angel, but of Daniel (cf. 7:28; 8:27; 10:8-9, 16-17; also NASB).
- Daniel 9:22 tn Heb “he instructed and spoke with me.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.
- Daniel 9:23 tn Or “a precious treasure”; KJV “greatly beloved”; NASB, NIV “highly esteemed.”
- Daniel 9:23 tn This sentence is perhaps a compound hendiadys (“give serious consideration to the revelatory vision”).
- Daniel 9:24 tn Heb “sevens.” Elsewhere the term is used of a literal week (a period of seven days); cf. Gen 29:27-28; Exod 34:22; Lev 12:5; Num 28:26; Deut 16:9-10; 2 Chr 8:13; Jer 5:24; Dan 10:2-3. Gabriel unfolds the future as if it were a calendar of successive weeks. Most understand the reference here as seventy “sevens” of years, or a total of 490 years.
- Daniel 9:24 tc Or “to finish.” The present translation reads the Qere (from the root תָּמַם, tamam) with many witnesses. The Kethib has “to seal up” (from the root הָתַם, hatam), a confusion with a reference later in the verse to sealing up the vision.
- Daniel 9:24 tc The present translation reads the Qere (singular), rather than the Kethib (plural).
- Daniel 9:24 tn The Hebrew phrase לְכַלֵּא (lekhalleʾ) is apparently an alternative (metaplastic) spelling of the root כָּלָה (kalah, “to complete, finish”), rather than a form of כָּלָא (kalaʾ, “to shut up, restrain”), as has sometimes been supposed.
- Daniel 9:24 tn Or “everlasting.”
- Daniel 9:24 sn The act of sealing in the OT is a sign of authentication (cf. 1 Kgs 21:8 and Jer 32:10, 11, 44).
- Daniel 9:24 tn Heb “vision and prophecy.” The expression is a hendiadys.
- Daniel 9:24 tn Or “the most holy place” (NASB, NLT); or “a most holy one”; or “the most holy one,” though the expression is used of places or objects elsewhere, not people.
- Daniel 9:25 tn Or “decree” (NASB, NIV); or “word” (NAB, NRSV).
- Daniel 9:25 tn The word “arrives” is added in the translation for clarification.
- Daniel 9:25 tn Heb “sevens” (also later in this line and in v. 26).sn The accents in the MT indicate disjunction at this point, which would make it difficult, if not impossible, to identify the “anointed one/prince” of this verse as messianic. The reference in v. 26 to the sixty-two weeks as a unit favors the MT accentuation, not the traditional translation. If one follows the MT accentuation, one may translate “From the going forth of the message to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an anointed one, a prince arrives, there will be a period of seven weeks. During a period of sixty-two weeks it will again be built, with plaza and moat, but in distressful times.” The present translation follows a traditional reading of the passage that deviates from the MT accentuation.
- Daniel 9:25 tn Heb “it will return and be built.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.
- Daniel 9:26 sn The expression have nothing is difficult. Presumably it refers to an absence of support or assistance for the anointed one at the time of his “cutting off.” The KJV rendering “but not for himself,” apparently suggesting a vicarious death, cannot be defended.
- Daniel 9:26 tc Some witnesses (e.g., the Syriac) understand a passive verb and the preposition עִם (ʿim, “with) rather than the noun עַם (ʿam, “people”), thus reading “the city and the sanctuary will be destroyed with the coming prince.”
- Daniel 9:26 tn The words “will come speedily” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
- Daniel 9:26 sn Flood here is a metaphor for sudden destruction.
- Daniel 9:27 tn Heb “one seven” (also later in this line).
- Daniel 9:27 tn The referent of the Hebrew word כְּנַף (kenaf, “wing”) is unclear here. The LXX and Theodotion have “the temple.” Some English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV) take this to mean “a wing of the temple,” but this is not clear.
- Daniel 9:27 tn The Hebrew text does not have this verb, but it has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
Daniel 9:20-27
Christian Standard Bible
The Seventy Weeks of Years
20 While I was speaking, praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel,(A) and presenting my petition before the Lord my God concerning the holy mountain of my God— 21 while I was praying, Gabriel,(B) the man I had seen in the first vision,(C) reached me in my extreme weariness, about the time of the evening offering.(D) 22 He gave me this explanation: “Daniel, I’ve come now to give you understanding.(E) 23 At the beginning of your petitions an answer went out, and I have come to give it, for you are treasured by God.[a](F) So consider the message and understand the vision:(G)
24 Seventy weeks are decreed(H)
about your people and your holy city—
to bring the rebellion to an end,
to put a stop to sin,
to atone for iniquity,
to bring in everlasting righteousness,(I)
to seal up vision and prophecy,
and to anoint the most holy place.
25 Know and understand this:
From the issuing of the decree
to restore and rebuild Jerusalem(J)
until an Anointed One,(K) the ruler,[b]
will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.
It will be rebuilt with a plaza and a moat,
but in difficult times.
26 After those sixty-two weeks
the Anointed One will be cut off(L)
and will have nothing.
The people of the coming ruler
will destroy the city(M) and the sanctuary.[c]
The[d] end will come with a flood,(N)
and until the end there will be[e] war;
desolations are decreed.
27 He will make a firm covenant[f]
with many for one week,
but in the middle of the week
he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering.
And the abomination of desolation(O)
will be on a wing(P) of the temple[g][h]
until the decreed destruction(Q)
is poured out on the desolator.”
Footnotes
- 9:23 by God added for clarity
- 9:25 Or until an anointed one, a prince
- 9:26 MT; Theod, some mss read The city and the sanctuary will be destroyed when the ruler comes.
- 9:26 Lit Its, or His
- 9:26 Or end of a
- 9:27 Or will enforce a covenant
- 9:27 LXX; MT reads of abominations
- 9:27 Or And the desolator will be on the wing of abominations, or And the desolator will come on the wings of monsters (or of horror); Hb obscure
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