The next four verses should be read as a whole. The burden of their message is the date of Messiah's sacrifice, the time when he would "be cut off, but not for himself." An event of supreme moment to the entire human race. In making this revelation the heavenly visitor took the Sabbatic period of 7 years as his standard of time. The Greeks had a system of Olympiads, each 4 years in length. In our day the standard measure is one year. We must therefore lay aside our ordinary line of thought and in reading the next 4 verses we must accustom ourselves to thinking in PERIODS OF 7 YEARS EACH and remember that whenever an event took place it happened in some period 7 years in length. So that when the angel spoke of "the going forth of the commandment" he pointed to a Sabbatic period of 7 years, not to a certain day, hour, or minute of a given year, but to a group of 7 years as a whole, in a word to a certain "week," when therefore, he spoke of more "weeks" to follow the additional ones came in regular succession and the sum of the series must of necessity equal the full time revealed. The starting point was plainly the river Ahava and the time of their Exodus from Persia was just 2 days prior to the Passover of B.C. 458--see NOTE E. The first "week" therefore ended in B.C. 451, the second "week" in B.C. 444, the third in 437 and so on, until the end of the eighth week in B.C. 402. Up to that time the Jews were favored by the Persian government, but Persia lost her power and influence at the battle of Cunaxa in B.C. 401. Then followed 62 Sabbatic periods, or 434 years, ending with the Passover of A.D. 33 at which time Messiah was cut off. The three periods, 1 week plus 7 weeks plus 62 weeks make a total of "70 weeks" and prove the accuracy of the heavenly prediction. 24. Seventy 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. 25. Know therefore and understand, _that_ from the --week of the-- going forth of the commandment --of Artaxerxes-- to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince _shall be_ 7 weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. --How troublous is told by Nehemiah where he says: "we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. And it came to pass from that time forth, the half of my servants wrought in the work and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows and the coats of mail." 26. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come