In Daniel 9:26, וְאַחֲרֵי הַשָּׁבֻעִים שִׁשִּׁים וּשְׁנַיִם יִכָּרֵת מָשִׁיחַ וְאֵין לוֹ וְהָעִיר וְהַקֹּדֶשׁ יַשְׁחִית עַם נָגִיד הַבָּא וְקִצּוֹ בַשֶּׁטֶף וְעַד קֵץ מִלְחָמָה נֶחֱרֶצֶת שֹׁמֵמוֹת (“Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the coming prince 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 determined”, NASB), the עַם נָגִיד הַבָּא (ʿam nāgîḏ habbāʾ – “the people of the coming prince”) are the subject, while עִיר (ʿîr – “city”) and קֹדֶשׁ (qōdeš – “sanctuary”) are the direct objects. The traditional reading understands the Hebrew verb יַּשְׁחִית (yašḥîṯ) in its transitive Hiphil sense, “to destroy.” This aligns with the most common biblical use of שׁחת (shāḥat) in the Hiphil to denote outward destruction (e.g., Gen 6:13; Gen 13:10; Gen 19:13–14; Exod 32:7, 10; Num 16:33; 2 Sam 1:14; 2 Sam 20:20), is reflected in nearly all ancient versions (Theodotion, Vulgate, Syriac; cf. Collins, Daniel, 1993; Goldingay, Daniel, 1989), and is carried into almost every major modern translation (KJV, NASB, ESV, NIV, JPS). The force of the verb here fits the context of Jerusalem and its temple being overtaken and ruined, a reading long supported by Jewish and Christian exegetical traditions.

• Alternative, less attested reading: Some interpreters note that יַּשְׁחִית (yašḥîṯ) can also function intransitively (“to act corruptly, to be corrupt”), as seen in passages such as Gen 6:12; Deut 4:16; Deut 31:29; Isa 1:4; Jer 6:28; 2 Chr 27:2. In these examples, the verb carries a moral sense with no external object. On this basis, a minority view takes Daniel 9:26 to mean “the people of the coming prince will become corrupt,” emphasizing moral downfall rather than physical destruction (see BDB, Hebrew and English Lexicon, p. 1007; HALOT, vol. 4, p. 1467). This reading is grammatically possible but far less commonly adopted.