Daniel 8:24-25

8:24 His power will be great, but it will not be by his strength alone. He will cause terrible destruction. ¹  He will be successful in what he undertakes. ²  He will destroy powerful people and the people of the holy ones. ³  8:25 By his treachery ⁴  he will succeed through deceit. ⁵  He will have an arrogant attitude, ⁶  and he will destroy many who are unaware of his schemes. ⁷  He will rise up against the Prince of princes, yet he will be broken apart – but not by human agency. ⁸ 

Daniel 9:26

9:26 Now after the sixty-two weeks,

an anointed one will be cut off and have nothing. ⁹ 

As for the city and the sanctuary,

the people of the coming prince will destroy ¹⁰  them.

But his end will come speedily ¹¹  like a flood. ¹² 

Until the end of the war that has been decreed

there will be destruction.

[8:24]  ¹ tn Heb “extraordinarily he will destroy.”

[8:24]  ² tn Heb “he will succeed and act.”

[8:24]  ³ tn See the corresponding Aramaic expression in 7:27. If the “holy ones” are angels, then this probably refers to the angels as protectors of God’s people. One could translate, “people belonging to (i.e., protected by) the holy ones.” If the “holy ones” are God’s people, then this is an appositional construction, “the people who are the holy ones.” One could translate simply “holy people.” For examples of a plural appositional genitive after “people,” see 11:15, 32. Because either interpretation is possible, the translation has deliberately preserved the ambiguity of the Hebrew grammar here.

[8:25]  ⁴ 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.

[8:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “he will cause deceit to succeed by his hand.”

[8:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “in his heart he will act arrogantly.”

[8:25]  ⁷ 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.

[8:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “with nothingness of hand.”

[9:26]  ⁷ 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.

[9:26]  ⁸ 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.”

[9:26]  ⁹ tn The words “will come speedily” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[9:26]  ¹⁰ sn Flood here is a metaphor for sudden destruction.