“For he is the living God;
he endures forever.
His kingdom will not be destroyed;
his authority is forever. 10
9:24 “Seventy weeks 19 have been determined
concerning your people and your holy city
to put an end to 20 rebellion,
to bring sin 21 to completion, 22
to atone for iniquity,
to bring in perpetual 23 righteousness,
to seal up 24 the prophetic vision, 25
and to anoint a most holy place. 26
9:26 Now after the sixty-two weeks,
an anointed one will be cut off and have nothing. 27
As for the city and the sanctuary,
the people of the coming prince will destroy 28 them.
But his end will come speedily 29 like a flood. 30
Until the end of the war that has been decreed
there will be destruction.
1 tn Aram “in strength.”
2 tn Aram “cause to enter.”
3 tn Aram “answered and said.”
4 sn Purple was a color associated with royalty in the ancient world.
5 tn The term translated “golden collar” here probably refers to something more substantial than merely a gold chain (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT) or necklace (cf. NASB).
6 tn Aram “[there were] discovered to be in him.”
7 tn Aram “wisdom like the wisdom.” This would be redundant in terms of English style.
8 tc Theodotion lacks the phrase “and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods.”
9 tc The MT includes a redundant reference to “your father the king” at the end of v. 11. None of the attempts to explain this phrase as original are very convincing. The present translation deletes the phrase, following Theodotion and the Syriac.
10 tn Aram “until the end.”
11 tn The Hebrew term has a primary meaning of “skill, insight,” but here it has the connotation “cunning, treachery.” See BDB 968 s.v. שֵׂכֶל, שֶׂכֶל.
12 tn Heb “he will cause deceit to succeed by his hand.”
13 tn Heb “in his heart he will act arrogantly.”
14 tn Heb “in peace.” The Hebrew word used here is difficult. It may refer to the security felt by those who did not realize the danger of imminent attack, or it may refer to the condition of being unaware of the impending danger. The latter idea is reflected in the present translation. See further, BDB 1017 s.v. שַׁלְוָה.
15 tn Heb “with nothingness of hand.”
16 tn Heb “we have not pacified the face of.”
17 tn Or “by gaining insight.”
18 tn Heb “by your truth.” The Hebrew term does not refer here to abstract truth, however, but to the reliable moral guidance found in the covenant law. See vv 10-11.
19 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 periods of seventy “sevens” of years, or a total of 490 years.
20 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.
21 tc The present translation reads the Qere (singular), rather than the Kethib (plural).
22 tn The Hebrew phrase לְכַלֵּא (lÿkhalle’) is apparently an alternative (metaplastic) spelling of the root כָּלָה (kalah, “to complete, finish”), rather than a form of כָּלָא (kala’, “to shut up, restrain”), as has sometimes been supposed.
23 tn Or “everlasting.”
24 sn The act of sealing in the OT is a sign of authentication. Cf. 1 Kgs 21:8; Jer 32:10, 11, 44.
25 tn Heb “vision and prophecy.” The expression is a hendiadys.
26 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.
27 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.
28 tc Some witnesses (e.g., the Syriac) understand a passive verb and the preposition עִם (’im, “with) rather than the noun עַם (’am, “people”), thus reading “the city and the sanctuary will be destroyed with the coming prince.”
29 tn The words “will come speedily” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
30 sn Flood here is a metaphor for sudden destruction.
31 tn Or “a treasured person”; KJV “a man greatly beloved”; NASB “man of high esteem.”
32 tn The Hebrew participle is often used, as here, to refer to the imminent future.
33 tn Heb “stand upon your standing.”
34 tn Heb “spoke this word.”
35 tn Heb “gave your heart.”
36 tn Heb “Behold.”
37 tc So most Hebrew
38 tn Heb “my lord,” here a title of polite address. Cf. v. 19.
39 tn Heb “treasured man.”
40 tn Heb “my lord may speak.”