This commentary is a work in progress and may be revised as study continues. If you have a question, spot an error, or want to discuss a passage, please reach out.
1In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;
2In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
3And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
4And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
5We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
6Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
8O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
9To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
10Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
11Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.
12And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
13As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.
14Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
The “evil” mentioned here (Hebrew רַע – raʿ, Strong’s H7451) does not refer to moral evil or wicked intent, but to calamity, distress, or adversity. In context, it is a disciplinary judgment, not an immoral act by God.
The verse itself explains the reason: “for we obeyed not His voice.” This is corrective chastisement, much like a parent disciplining a child, carried out in righteousness, not malice.
15And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
17Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.
18O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.
19O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
20And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God;
21Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
22And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
23At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
24Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
First off, the time given for the temple, street and wall to be rebuilt and Messiah to come is “Seventy weeks” 70 weeks or 490 years. This is the overarching time bracket, which the following verses 25-27 will break down into smaller increments to describe specific events, including the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s streets and walls and the coming of the Messiah.
The Hebrew word here for week is Strong's H7620 - šāḇûaʿ and it means a unit of seven and it can mean either days or years. From the context we can conclude Daniel is speaking of years here because:
Daniel 9 begins with this where Daniel is praying about year and not days: “I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years… seventy years…” (Dan 9:2)
Gabriel is responding to Daniel’s concern about years, so he gives a larger structure of years, not days. He’s expanding Daniel’s understanding from one sabbatical cycle (7 years) to seventy sabbatical cycles (490 years), as expressed in the phrase “seventy sevens”.
The events simply cannot fit into 490 days (1.3 years):
Rebuilding Jerusalem, Restoring the walls, Return from exile, Coming of the Messiah, Messiah being “cut off”, Destruction of Jerusalem again, Bringing in “everlasting righteousness”. These take centuries, not months. But they fit perfectly into 490 years. So the content itself requires years.
Daniel 9 gives three time blocks in total to give a summarized overview it would look like the following:
7 weeks (49 years) = The time it took to rebuild and restore the city of Jerusalem, including walls, streets, and defenses (Nehemiah’s era).
62 weeks (434 years) = The period from the completion of Jerusalem’s restoration until the appearance of the Messiah.
1 week (7 years) = The final period concluding the entire 490 year timeline given in this prophecy.
The“holy city” is a reference to Jerusalem as shown in:
Nehemiah 11:1 “And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities.”
Matthew 4:5 “Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,”
As the author of Hebrews tells us in 10:17-18 Jesus was the one “ to make an end of sins”when He died on the cross:
And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
Jesus made “reconciliation for iniquity” when He died and rose again as the New Testament tells us:
The Greek word for seal in “seal up the vision and prophecy”is Strong's H2856 - ḥāṯam and it is Biblically used in different manners such as to seal, stop, lock up. The majority of scholars agree it means to complete which parallels stopping or locking up a vision, it is no longer active.
Notice it says “the vision”singular, this is not multiple visions in the Old Testament or outpouring of the Spirit in the New Testament. It is simply referring to the previous verse Daniel 9:23 above “and consider the vision.”Therefore we can conclude sealing up the vision which is also prophetic is to bring the prophetic program Gabriel is giving here to completion.
To “anoint the most Holy” exegetically speaking is referring to the “most holy place” or “holy of holies” in the temple. A place and not a person. We see this paralleled in scripture too:
Exodus 26:33 “And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.”
Exodus 26:34 “And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.”
Exodus 40:10 “And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy.”
Hebrews 9:3 “And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;”
See also: 1 Kings 6:16; 7:50; 8:6 and Ezekiel 41:4; 43:12; 45:3
Then in the New Testament we see this completed where Jesus anointed the most Holy for us with His blood:
Hebrews 9:12 “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”
Hebrews 10:19-20 “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Hebrews 9:24 “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:”
See also, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament earthly type and also anointed the holy items and temple “a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands” as Hebrews 9:11 states:
Old Testament: Exodus 40:9-10 “And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy. And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy.”
New Testament: Hebrews 9:21 “Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.”
25Know 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 wall, even in troublous times.
This verse describes a portion of the 490-year period mentioned in Daniel 9:24, specifically, the 483 years leading up to the appearance of the Messiah. It begins with the 7-week (49-year) period, which represents the full restoration of Jerusalem, including its streets, walls, gates, and functioning civic life, under challenging circumstances.
In 538 BC when Daniel wrote “to restore and to build Jerusalem,” this prophecy described what would unfold from Daniel’s time until the coming of the Messiah. Daniel 9:25 specifically refers to the rebuilding of Jerusalem itself, not the temple. However, understanding the temple timeline helps see the whole picture:
536 BC - Zerubbabel and Jeshua begin the temple foundation (Ezra 3:8–10).
520 BC - Haggai and Zechariah encourage the work (Ezra 5:1–2).
516 BC - Temple completed under Zerubbabel (Ezra 6:14–15).
45/444 BC - Jerusalem’s walls and city are rebuilt:
Nehemiah requests permission from Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 2:1–8).
Rebuilding begins with inspection and leadership (Nehemiah 2:11–18).
Walls completed in 52 days (Nehemiah 6:15–16).
Construction occurs under threat — “even in troublous times” (Nehemiah 4:7–15, Nehemiah 6:2).
The time given for Jerusalem’s street and walls to be rebuilt is “seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks”. As we established above a week is a unit of 7 therefore since context teaches us that we are speaking of years:
“Seven weeks”means seven sevens which equals 7 × 7 = 49 years. This matches Leviticus 25:8, where 49 years is defined as “seven times seven years”. Post Nehemiah’s decree it took 49 years until the city/walls were rebuilt.
We then have “threescore and two weeks”which means 62 x 7 = 434 years.
Combined, the two periods equal 483 years, representing the span from the command to rebuild Jerusalem until the appearance of the Messiah.
We can calculate this prophecy being fulfilled by starting at Nehemiah’s decree to rebuild (Nehemiah 2:1–8) in 445/444 BC which is the timeline we are given here to calculate from as the verse states “that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem”until Messiah comes around AD 27–28 which is right when He started His ministry after being baptized by John the baptist.
Note: these 483 years are counted as prophetic years of 360 days each, based on the ancient Hebrew calendar of 12 months × 30 days.
26And 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.
This verse describes a portion of the 490-year period mentioned in Daniel 9:24, specifically the 434-year period after the initial 7 weeks (49 years) of Jerusalem’s rebuilding, leading up to the appearance of the Messiah.
After “threescore and two weeks”, threescore and two equaling62 multiplied by 7 the unit of week which amounts to 434 years. Jesus the Messiah was“cut off”when He was crucified as Isaiah 53:8 says ”He was cut off out of the land of the living:for the transgression of my people was he stricken.”
Jesus came “not for himself” but for humanity as Mark 10:45 / Matthew 20:28 tell us “The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,and to give his life a ransom for many.” (see also John 6:51, John 12:27, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 9:26 and 1 John 2:2)
The phrase“the end thereof shall be with a flood”is most likely understood to be a metaphor describing the army attacks the city. Scripture does this elsewhere in passages like the following:
Daniel11:22 “And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.”
Isaiah 8:7-8 where water is used to describe men attacking “Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over,
Josephus describes the Roman invasion as overwhelming, sudden, and devastating. The siege of Jerusalem (AD 70): surrounded the city, cut it off, crushed it with overwhelming force, burned and leveled the temple, slaughtered huge numbers (1+ million per Josephus). The imagery is exactly like an overwhelming flood sweeping everything away.
27And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
This verse describes the final “week” (7 years) of the full 490-year period mentioned in Daniel 9:24. By this time, Jerusalem has been rebuilt, and the Messiah has already appeared.
There is a reason why desolation or destruction occurs and it is because the abominations have become too much in God’s eyes “and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate”
The phrase “even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” describes God’s plan will keep going until it’s determined end which will mark the completion on this 490 year prophetic timeline.
9
Daniel 9 — Forever Word commentary
King James VersionThis commentary is a work in progress and may be revised as study continues. If you have a question, spot an error, or want to discuss a passage, please reach out.
1In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;
2In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
3And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
4And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
5We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
6Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
8O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
9To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
10Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
11Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.
12And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
13As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.
14Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
The “evil” mentioned here (Hebrew רַע – raʿ, Strong’s H7451) does not refer to moral evil or wicked intent, but to calamity, distress, or adversity. In context, it is a disciplinary judgment, not an immoral act by God.
The verse itself explains the reason: “for we obeyed not His voice.” This is corrective chastisement, much like a parent disciplining a child, carried out in righteousness, not malice.
15And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
17Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.
18O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.
19O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
20And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God;
21Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
22And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
23At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
24Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
First off, the time given for the temple, street and wall to be rebuilt and Messiah to come is “Seventy weeks” 70 weeks or 490 years. This is the overarching time bracket, which the following verses 25-27 will break down into smaller increments to describe specific events, including the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s streets and walls and the coming of the Messiah.
The Hebrew word here for week is Strong's H7620 - šāḇûaʿ and it means a unit of seven and it can mean either days or years. From the context we can conclude Daniel is speaking of years here because:
Daniel 9 begins with this where Daniel is praying about year and not days: “I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years… seventy years…” (Dan 9:2)
Gabriel is responding to Daniel’s concern about years, so he gives a larger structure of years, not days. He’s expanding Daniel’s understanding from one sabbatical cycle (7 years) to seventy sabbatical cycles (490 years), as expressed in the phrase “seventy sevens”.
The events simply cannot fit into 490 days (1.3 years):
Rebuilding Jerusalem, Restoring the walls, Return from exile, Coming of the Messiah, Messiah being “cut off”, Destruction of Jerusalem again, Bringing in “everlasting righteousness”. These take centuries, not months. But they fit perfectly into 490 years. So the content itself requires years.
Daniel 9 gives three time blocks in total to give a summarized overview it would look like the following:
7 weeks (49 years) = The time it took to rebuild and restore the city of Jerusalem, including walls, streets, and defenses (Nehemiah’s era).
62 weeks (434 years) = The period from the completion of Jerusalem’s restoration until the appearance of the Messiah.
1 week (7 years) = The final period concluding the entire 490 year timeline given in this prophecy.
The “holy city” is a reference to Jerusalem as shown in:
Nehemiah 11:1 “And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities.”
Matthew 4:5 “Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,”
As the author of Hebrews tells us in 10:17-18 Jesus was the one “ to make an end of sins” when He died on the cross:
And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
Jesus made “reconciliation for iniquity” when He died and rose again as the New Testament tells us:
The Greek word for seal in “seal up the vision and prophecy” is Strong's H2856 - ḥāṯam and it is Biblically used in different manners such as to seal, stop, lock up. The majority of scholars agree it means to complete which parallels stopping or locking up a vision, it is no longer active.
Notice it says “the vision” singular, this is not multiple visions in the Old Testament or outpouring of the Spirit in the New Testament. It is simply referring to the previous verse Daniel 9:23 above “and consider the vision.” Therefore we can conclude sealing up the vision which is also prophetic is to bring the prophetic program Gabriel is giving here to completion.
To “anoint the most Holy” exegetically speaking is referring to the “most holy place” or “holy of holies” in the temple. A place and not a person. We see this paralleled in scripture too:
Exodus 26:33 “And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.”
Exodus 26:34 “And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.”
Exodus 40:10 “And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy.”
Hebrews 9:3 “And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;”
See also: 1 Kings 6:16; 7:50; 8:6 and Ezekiel 41:4; 43:12; 45:3
Then in the New Testament we see this completed where Jesus anointed the most Holy for us with His blood:
Hebrews 9:12 “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”
Hebrews 10:19-20 “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Hebrews 9:24 “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:”
See also, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament earthly type and also anointed the holy items and temple “a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands” as Hebrews 9:11 states:
Old Testament: Exodus 40:9-10 “And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy. And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy.”
New Testament: Hebrews 9:21 “Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.”
25Know 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 wall, even in troublous times.
This verse describes a portion of the 490-year period mentioned in Daniel 9:24, specifically, the 483 years leading up to the appearance of the Messiah. It begins with the 7-week (49-year) period, which represents the full restoration of Jerusalem, including its streets, walls, gates, and functioning civic life, under challenging circumstances.
In 538 BC when Daniel wrote “to restore and to build Jerusalem,” this prophecy described what would unfold from Daniel’s time until the coming of the Messiah. Daniel 9:25 specifically refers to the rebuilding of Jerusalem itself, not the temple. However, understanding the temple timeline helps see the whole picture:
536 BC - Zerubbabel and Jeshua begin the temple foundation (Ezra 3:8–10).
520 BC - Haggai and Zechariah encourage the work (Ezra 5:1–2).
516 BC - Temple completed under Zerubbabel (Ezra 6:14–15).
45/444 BC - Jerusalem’s walls and city are rebuilt:
Nehemiah requests permission from Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 2:1–8).
Rebuilding begins with inspection and leadership (Nehemiah 2:11–18).
Walls completed in 52 days (Nehemiah 6:15–16).
Construction occurs under threat — “even in troublous times” (Nehemiah 4:7–15, Nehemiah 6:2).
The time given for Jerusalem’s street and walls to be rebuilt is “seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks”. As we established above a week is a unit of 7 therefore since context teaches us that we are speaking of years:
“Seven weeks” means seven sevens which equals 7 × 7 = 49 years. This matches Leviticus 25:8, where 49 years is defined as “seven times seven years”. Post Nehemiah’s decree it took 49 years until the city/walls were rebuilt.
We then have “threescore and two weeks” which means 62 x 7 = 434 years.
Combined, the two periods equal 483 years, representing the span from the command to rebuild Jerusalem until the appearance of the Messiah.
We can calculate this prophecy being fulfilled by starting at Nehemiah’s decree to rebuild (Nehemiah 2:1–8) in 445/444 BC which is the timeline we are given here to calculate from as the verse states “that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” until Messiah comes around AD 27–28 which is right when He started His ministry after being baptized by John the baptist.
Note: these 483 years are counted as prophetic years of 360 days each, based on the ancient Hebrew calendar of 12 months × 30 days.
26And 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.
This verse describes a portion of the 490-year period mentioned in Daniel 9:24, specifically the 434-year period after the initial 7 weeks (49 years) of Jerusalem’s rebuilding, leading up to the appearance of the Messiah.
After “threescore and two weeks”, threescore and two equaling 62 multiplied by 7 the unit of week which amounts to 434 years. Jesus the Messiah was “cut off” when He was crucified as Isaiah 53:8 says ”He was cut off out of the land of the living:for the transgression of my people was he stricken.”
Jesus came “not for himself” but for humanity as Mark 10:45 / Matthew 20:28 tell us “The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,and to give his life a ransom for many.” (see also John 6:51, John 12:27, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 9:26 and 1 John 2:2)
The phrase “the end thereof shall be with a flood” is most likely understood to be a metaphor describing the army attacks the city. Scripture does this elsewhere in passages like the following:
Daniel11:22 “And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.”
Isaiah 8:7-8 where water is used to describe men attacking “Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over,
Josephus describes the Roman invasion as overwhelming, sudden, and devastating. The siege of Jerusalem (AD 70): surrounded the city, cut it off, crushed it with overwhelming force, burned and leveled the temple, slaughtered huge numbers (1+ million per Josephus). The imagery is exactly like an overwhelming flood sweeping everything away.
27And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
This verse describes the final “week” (7 years) of the full 490-year period mentioned in Daniel 9:24. By this time, Jerusalem has been rebuilt, and the Messiah has already appeared.
There is a reason why desolation or destruction occurs and it is because the abominations have become too much in God’s eyes “and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate”
The phrase “even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” describes God’s plan will keep going until it’s determined end which will mark the completion on this 490 year prophetic timeline.