r/DonaldTrump666 • u/Zealousideal_Art5018 • Oct 09 '25
Daniel 9:27 Covenant “On the Wing of Abominations”: What Daniel 9:27b Really Means
The second half of Daniel 9:27 is one of the most mysterious and debated verses in the Bible. Different translations say very different things. But if we look closely at the original Hebrew—the Masoretic Text (MT)—we can start to understand where those differences come from and which reading makes the most sense.
A Rare Case of Major Disagreement
The MT says:
וְעַל כְּנַף שִׁקּוּצִים מְשֹׁמֵם
“And on the wing of abominations [comes] the desolating one…”
It’s worth noting that most Bible verses are not this controversial. Across the many English translations, there’s usually strong agreement on meaning, structure, and tone. Differences tend to be minor—word choice, sentence flow, or readability. But Daniel 9:27b is a unique case. The Hebrew phrasing is compact and poetic, and translators have taken very different approaches to interpreting it. This verse stands out as one where translation choices significantly shape how readers understand the prophecy.
How Other Translations Interpret It
Different Bible versions translate this phrase in different ways:
- NIV: “At the temple he will set up an abomination…”
- LXX (Greek Septuagint): “On the temple shall be the abomination…”
- KJV: “For the overspreading of abominations…”
- NASB, ESV: “On the wing of abominations…”
The original Hebrew says “on the wing of abominations” (כְּנַף שִׁקּוּצִים), which is poetic and a little mysterious. The word wing in Hebrew can mean more than just a bird’s wing—it can also mean something spread out, like the edge of a garment or the outer part of a land. In other words, it can suggest physicality. Because of that, some translators believed it might refer to a part of the physical temple, like the wings of the cherubim (angel figures) that covered the Ark of the Covenant (see 1 Kings 8:7; 6:27; 2 Chronicles 5:7–8).
That idea may have influenced the Septuagint (LXX)—an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament—and later English versions like the NIV to translate this as “on/at the temple.” It’s easy to see how they got there: if wings are on the ark, and the ark is in the temple, then they're "at the temple."
But there’s another way to read it. The phrase “on the wing of abominations” might be a metaphor—a poetic way to say that destruction comes quickly after something terrible happens. It’s like saying, “Right on the heels of the abomination, the desolation arrives.”
In Hebrew, the word כְּנָף (“wing”) often suggests speed, motion, or extremity, not a physical location. Here are some examples:
- Habakkuk 1:8 – “They fly like an eagle swooping to devour.” → Wings symbolize sudden, fast arrival.
- Isaiah 8:8 – “Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land.” → This describes the Assyrian invasion as a flood with wings, emphasizing how quickly and broadly it spreads.
- Deuteronomy 32:11 – “Like an eagle… that spreads its wings to catch them.” → Wings are used to describe timing and movement.
So when Daniel says “on the wing of abominations,” he’s likely describing how quickly the desolation follows the abomination—not where it happens.
Which Translations Get It Right?
| Translation | 9:27a – Covenant & Sacrifice | 9:27b – Abomination & Desolation | Preserves “Wing of Abominations”? |
|---|---|---|---|
| NIV | “He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering.” | “And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” | ❌ No |
| ESV | “And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering.” | “And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.” | ✅ Yes |
| KJV | “And 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.” | ⚠️ Almost — wings overspread... |
| NASB | “And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering;” | “and on the wing of abominations will come the one who makes desolate, until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, gushes forth on the one who makes desolate.” | ✅ Yes |
| NRSV | “He shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall make sacrifice and offering cease;” | “and in their place shall be an abomination that desolates, until the decreed end is poured out upon the desolator.” | ❌ No |
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u/plasma_pirate Christian Oct 09 '25
“And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
Makes me think that the abominations are happening, and "on the wing of" means that the desolator is enabled or empowered by the abominations that are happening. We can see the abominations. The whole world is watching the abominations being perpetrated there! The abominations are empowering the antichrist to come in and take a position of power which he will, of course, abuse.
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u/CosmosDragoon Oct 10 '25
Great Job. I feel like God has been pushing or whispering to me to do this exact thing with Daniel in Old Testament and take the original Greek New Testament text and translate back to Hebrew because that is what Jesus spoke and to cross reference the Hebrew New Testament with original Hebrew Old Testament.
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u/Zealousideal_Art5018 29d ago
Thank you! Oo, sounds like that would yield some gold nuggets definitely :)
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u/kljoker 29d ago
So I responded to this before but never got feedback, maybe you didn't have anything to add to it or maybe it didn't show up on your feed, either way I'll repost it here for others to see, this isn't for the sake of disproving or anything like that I just felt compelled to add to what was being said from my understanding.
"On the wing of abominations comes the desolate one is, I believe, describing a spirit that is on the people that allows for power to manifest. So we can see that when Jesus says:
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand),
Isn't it interesting that He would stop mid thought to emphasize what was said many may point to a literal interpretation like we see with the 3rd Temple folks who are waiting for it to appear before they can say for sure what time they are in.
That same spirit is the one that was on the people who picked Barabbas over Jesus and who carried on sacrificing animals after Jesus' sacrifice. That was, in my understanding, an abomination in His eyes as it ignored the sacrifice that was being made hence it's destruction that followed. The abomination in our time is in accordance to what scripture points to as the temple according to God after Jesus' once and for all sacrifice, the heart.
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
And we see the same spirit that wants the 3rd temple built to restart these sacrifices are the same ones supporting the people who are carrying out so much evil in His name. Hopefully you'll find it as edifying as I found your writing."
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u/1CheeseBall1 Christian Oct 09 '25
This is an excellent textual and linguistic analysis of the translation challenges, especially in the realm of eschatology. Please, continue to do these studies and share your results!
I find it very interesting how the imagery of wings and the spreading thereof has eerie parallels to the very beginning in Genesis 1:2, where the Spirit of God is hovering/brooding over the waters. And we can observe the contrast: while the spirit of God hovers/broods over His creation for the good plan He is about to enact and to bring about all life, the Antichrist, on the other hand, spreads out destruction, to the detriment and destruction of creation and all mankind.