The translators of the Legacy Standard Bible have an agenda, and it could not have been revealed in a more blundered manner. I say 'blunder' because I sure hope it was not willful and deliberate. In their Inside Column Reference Bible, proof text methodology is on full display in their cross reference system. In Daniel 9:25, right next to the words "Messiah the Prince," appears a superscript letter 'c.' Please take special notice of those words again: "Messiah the Prince." Would anyone care to venture a guess as to precisely who "Messiah the Prince" is? That is correct; it is JESUS!
If you look in the inside column reference for verse 25, the superscripted letter 'c' has been cross referenced to Daniel 8:11 and 25. Normally, Dispensationalists (or Pre-Tribulationists) apply the first half of verse 27 to their mythical future "Anti-Christ," thereby turning JESUS into the Anti-Christ. (Look in any commentary from the 1800s and earlier and note how they identified JESUS as the person in the first half of verse 27.) However, in the LSB Inside Column Reference Bible, they blatantly turn JESUS into the Anti-Christ by a colossal blunder. They link "Messiah the Prince" by cross reference to their imagined "Anti-Christ."
Why was this cross reference not applied to the "prince" in verse 26? While it would still be wrong, nevertheless it would have made more sense than to link "Messiah the Prince," which is JESUS, to their mythical future "Anti-Christ." Why would this cross reference still be wrong if linked to the "prince" in verse 26? Because the entirety of Daniel 8 is in conjunction with the Greek empire, whereas the "prince" of Daniel 9:26 is in conjunction with the Roman empire. The "little horn" in Daniel 8 is Antiochus Epiphanes, as history bears out.
Dispensationalists have a problem with reading the Bible literally and paying attention to the context. They interpret the Bible using a proof text methodology similar to that of the Jehovah's Witnesses, choosing random isolated verses from Genesis to Revelation and then trying to assemble them in a manner to support their ridiculous and nonsensical doctrines, which the Scriptures utterly repudiate.
If you are going to insist that the 70th week of Daniel has not yet been fulfilled, then go read Daniel 9:24-27, and ask yourself these questions:
- During which week of the seventy-week prophecy did Messiah carry out his multi-year ministry?
- In which week did He die for our sins?
If you are the least bit honest with the text, you will discover that the only place for those events is in the 70th week. Daniel's 70 weeks have already been fulfilled! There is no debate here.
Furthermore, the Hebrew word gabar does not mean "to make," as the Legacy Standard Bible has translated it in verse 27. It means "to confirm, to strengthen, to cause to prevail." Which covenant is being confirmed, strengthened, and caused to prevail? The same covenant mentioned back in Daniel 9:4: "I prayed to Yahweh my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments."" It is the Abrahamic covenant.
THE POETIC STRUCTURE OF DANIEL 9:25-27
The prophecy in Daniel 9:25-27 is presented in a poetic form of parallelism with two foci—Jerusalem and the Messiah. The text alternates between these two foci. Below, the phrases referring to the Messiah are in bold while the phrases referring to Jerusalem are in italics.
25 So you are to know and have insight that from the going out of a word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be restored and rebuilt, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. 26 Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are decreed. 27 And he will [confirm, strengthen, cause to prevail] a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will make sacrifice and grain offering cease; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.
A strict chronologically literal sequence is prohibited by the poetic parallelism. The mention of Messiah immediately after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem in verse 25 implies that the city was rebuilt to receive the Messiah. The mention of the destruction of the city immediately after the killing of Messiah in verse 26 implies that the city is once again destroyed because it did not receive the Messiah. There is a cause and effect relationship happening here. Even Jesus acknowledges this: "They will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation" (Luke 19:44; cf. 21:20-24).
THE CHIASTIC STRUCTURE OF DANIEL 9:25-27
A chiastic structure is a literary device used to emphasize the statement at the center of the chiasm. Verses 25 to 27 of Daniel 9 form a chiasm, which means that the first item corresponds to the last, the second item corresponds to the second last, etc. The central point of the chiasm is the death of Messiah. Observe:
| Messiah cut off (v.26a) | ||
| Construction (v.25c) | —— | Destruction (v.26b) |
| Unto Messiah (v.25b) | —— | Messiah covenant (v.27a) |
| Construction (v.25a) | —— | Destruction (v.27c) |
Viewing Daniel 9:24-27 in this way clarifies a great deal of confusion. The last part of verse 27 describes the destruction of Jerusalem, which corresponds to its construction in the beginning of verse 25. The "he" in the first part of verse 27 quite obviously corresponds to the Messiah in the second part of verse 25. The death of the Messiah is the great focus of this prophecy as His death would make atonement for all evil and, as a result, bring in everlasting righteousness (v.24).
FINAL POINT
While the Legacy Standard Bible is an excellent translation, nevertheless their cross reference system and headings are saturated with proof text methodology and erroneous opinion. Anyone who purchases the LSB (or any other translation for that matter), I encourage you to purchase a copy without cross references. If you can obtain one without chapters, verses, and headings, even better. None of these things (chapters, verses, headings, or cross references) are inspired; they are more frequently a hindrance to your understanding the Scriptures correctly than any kind of help.
Unfortunately, this erroneous cross reference is not just limited to the LSB; it is also found in the New American Standard Bible (NASB). Once you break free of proof text methodology, it is disheartening every time you see it.
Daniel 9:24-27 forever puts Jews in the wrong as Messiah had to be born and die before the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred in A.D. 70. There is no debate here. Moreover, Isaiah 53 forever puts Jews in the wrong because it clearly identifies the Messiah, which they cannot deny describes Jesus.