Acts 13:35-37

13:35 Therefore he also says in another psalm, ¹  ‘You will not permit your Holy One ²  to experience ³  decay.’ ⁴  13:36 For David, after he had served ⁵  God’s purpose in his own generation, died, ⁶  was buried with his ancestors, ⁷  and experienced ⁸  decay, 13:37 but the one ⁹  whom God raised up did not experience ¹⁰  decay.

¹ tn Grk “Therefore he also says in another”; the word “psalm” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

² tn The Greek word translated “Holy One” here (ὅσιόν, {osion) is related to the use of ὅσια (Josia) in v. 34. The link is a wordplay. The Holy One, who does not die, brings the faithful holy blessings of promise to the people.

³ tn Grk “to see,” but the literal translation of the phrase “to see decay” could be misunderstood to mean simply “to look at decay,” while here “see decay” is really figurative for “experience decay.”

⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 16:10.

⁵ tn The participle ὑπηρετήσας (Juphrethsa") is taken temporally.

⁶ tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for the death of a believer.

⁷ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “was gathered to his fathers” (a Semitic idiom).

⁸ tn Grk “saw,” but the literal translation of the phrase “saw decay” could be misunderstood to mean simply “looked at decay,” while here “saw decay” is really figurative for “experienced decay.” This remark explains why David cannot fulfill the promise.

⁹ sn The one whom God raised up refers to Jesus.

¹⁰ tn Grk “see,” but the literal translation of the phrase “did not see decay” could be misunderstood to mean simply “did not look at decay,” while here “did not see decay” is really figurative for “did not experience decay.”