Title

Some people look at Daniel 9:25-27 and get confused as to who the "he" is in 9:27. Is it the Real Messiah or the false messiah. The truth is - neither. I'll address why here, but let me encourage you to print this out on your printer and use it as a bookmark at Daniel 9 so you don't get confused again.

Verse

Hebrew

King James

My Literal Rendering

9:25
וְתֵדַע וְתַשְׂכֵּל מִן-מֹצָא דָבָר, לְהָשִׁיב וְלִבְנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַם עַד-מָשִׁיחַ נָגִיד--שָׁבֻעִים, שִׁבְעָה; וְשָׁבֻעִים שִׁשִּׁים וּשְׁנַיִם, תָּשׁוּב וְנִבְנְתָה רְחוֹב וְחָרוּץ, וּבְצוֹק, הָעִתִּים
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall², even in troublous times. And know and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) until Prince Messiah shall be 7 SEVENS and 62 SEVENS. The streets¹ will return and be built and decreed^2A, but in distressful times.

9:26
וְאַחֲרֵי הַשָּׁבֻעִים שִׁשִּׁים וּשְׁנַיִם, יִכָּרֵת מָשִׁיחַ וְאֵין לוֹ; וְהָעִיר וְהַקֹּדֶשׁ יַשְׁחִית עַם נָגִיד הַבָּא, וְקִצּוֹ בַשֶּׁטֶף, וְעַד קֵץ מִלְחָמָה, נֶחֱרֶצֶת שֹׁמֵמוֹת
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 flood³, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined^2B. And after 62 SEVENS, the Messiah will be cut off but not for Himself. And the city and the Holy [Place] shall be destroyed [by] the people of the prince who will come. And its end [will be] with a washing/carrying away³, and unto the end, war shall be decreed^2B of desolations.

9:27
וְהִגְבִּיר בְּרִית לָרַבִּים, שָׁבוּעַ אֶחָד; וַחֲצִי הַשָּׁבוּעַ יַשְׁבִּית זֶבַח וּמִנְחָה,
וְעַל כְּנַף שִׁקּוּצִים מְשֹׁמֵם, וְעַד-כָּלָה וְנֶחֱרָצָה, תִּתַּךְ עַל-שֹׁמֵם.
(a) And he⁴ shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:
(b) and in the midst of the week he⁴ shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,
(c) and for the overspreading of abominations he⁴ shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined^2B shall be poured upon the desolate.
(a) And a covenant for many will be strengthened for one SEVEN.
(b) And at half of the SEVEN the sacrifice and the offering shall be caused to cease.
(c) And upon the wings/fringes of abominations they will be desolated. And unto the end⁵.
And what is decreed^2B shall be poured upon the desolate.

¹This word literally means "wide spaces", and can refer to something other than a street, but is typically used to refer to streets.
^2ABKJV translated this word (חרוץ) as "wall" in 9:25 and as "determined" in 9:26 and 9:27. It can mean several things, including a decree, complete, diligent, cut , injure, or gold.
³KJV translates this as "flood". It could, but doesn't have to refer to a physical flood.
⁴KJV added "he" here from an IMPLIED reading of the grammar, but there is no pronoun in the Hebrew text.
⁵The underlined sentence has multiple meanings. I could talk a lot about this one, but will keep it brief and not get into side-trails.

Will "he" strengthen the covenant? (Either the false messiah, or the real one?). Maybe. But the text does not tell us that any one person HAS to be involved in this. The KJV added "he" from implied grammar, since the verb is unmodified, which usually means its 3rd person singular. However, Israel as a nation is called a "he" in scripture, and the grammar behind the "he" could therefore be a result of the reference "THE PEOPLE of the prince...". Hebrew would not necessarily use 3rd person plural for "they" when referencing a verb immediately after, since it could refer to the people acting in singularity. We would NEVER do that in English, but Hebrew is not English.

It is possible that the false messiah will be involved in confirming the covenant. The text doesn't say he has to be. It's possible that the people of the false messiah will be involved, but again they do not have to be. Because 9:27(a) only says that it will be done, not that any particular person or group of people will be crucial to its performance.

In re 9:27(b), the same story holds true again. It does not say that the false messiah or the people of the false messiah will cause the sacrifice to cease. It certainly would not surprise us if the false messiah was directly or indirectly involved in the causation, but the Hebrew text does NOT tell us that he or his people have to be involved. It simply passively tells us that it will occur.

9:27(c) is the same story, though I'm not going to argue with anyone over the idea that the false messiah will be the one to cause it to happen. I am simply trying to separate what is actually there in the Hebrew text from what the English text forces us to THINK is there.

Daniel 9:27 is telling us WHAT will happen in sequence, not necessarily who will do it.

What is a "SHAVUA"? Most English translations translate this as "week" or "Seven". Most of us consider this a 7 year period. However in Otser Midrashim, on page 386 in the latest publication of it, it says that a "שבוע" is "שמיטה של שבע שנים" or a "Shmitta of 7 years". Or in other words, a Sabbatical year. Thus, not just any 7 year period, but one being measured according to the Sabbatical cycle of years.

Shalom,

Joe

Verse	Hebrew	King James	My Literal Rendering
9:25	וְתֵדַע וְתַשְׂכֵּל מִן-מֹצָא דָבָר, לְהָשִׁיב וְלִבְנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַם עַד-מָשִׁיחַ נָגִיד--שָׁבֻעִים, שִׁבְעָה; וְשָׁבֻעִים שִׁשִּׁים וּשְׁנַיִם, תָּשׁוּב וְנִבְנְתָה רְחוֹב וְחָרוּץ, וּבְצוֹק, הָעִתִּים	Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall², even in troublous times.	And know and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) until Prince Messiah shall be 7 SEVENS and 62 SEVENS. The streets¹ will return and be built and decreed^2A, but in distressful times.
9:26	וְאַחֲרֵי הַשָּׁבֻעִים שִׁשִּׁים וּשְׁנַיִם, יִכָּרֵת מָשִׁיחַ וְאֵין לוֹ; וְהָעִיר וְהַקֹּדֶשׁ יַשְׁחִית עַם נָגִיד הַבָּא, וְקִצּוֹ בַשֶּׁטֶף, וְעַד קֵץ מִלְחָמָה, נֶחֱרֶצֶת שֹׁמֵמוֹת	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 flood³, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined^2B.	And after 62 SEVENS, the Messiah will be cut off but not for Himself. And the city and the Holy [Place] shall be destroyed [by] the people of the prince who will come. And its end [will be] with a washing/carrying away³, and unto the end, war shall be decreed^2B of desolations.
9:27	וְהִגְבִּיר בְּרִית לָרַבִּים, שָׁבוּעַ אֶחָד; וַחֲצִי הַשָּׁבוּעַ יַשְׁבִּית זֶבַח וּמִנְחָה, וְעַל כְּנַף שִׁקּוּצִים מְשֹׁמֵם, וְעַד-כָּלָה וְנֶחֱרָצָה, תִּתַּךְ עַל-שֹׁמֵם.	(a) And he⁴ shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: (b) and in the midst of the week he⁴ shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, (c) and for the overspreading of abominations he⁴ shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined^2B shall be poured upon the desolate.	(a) And a covenant for many will be strengthened for one SEVEN. (b) And at half of the SEVEN the sacrifice and the offering shall be caused to cease. (c) And upon the wings/fringes of abominations they will be desolated. And unto the end⁵. And what is decreed^2B shall be poured upon the desolate.