Acts 2:24

2:24 But God raised him up, having released him from the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power.

Acts 2:32-34

2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it. 2:33 So then, exalted to the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has poured out 10  what you both see and hear. 2:34 For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says,

The Lord said to my lord,

Sit 11  at my right hand


tn Grk “Whom God raised up.”

tn Or “having freed.”

sn The term translated pains is frequently used to describe pains associated with giving birth (see Rev 12:2). So there is irony here in the mixed metaphor.

tn Or “for him to be held by it” (in either case, “it” refers to death’s power).

tn Or “of him”; Grk “of which [or whom] we are all witnesses” (Acts 1:8).

tn The aorist participle ὑψωθείς (Juywqei") could be taken temporally: “So then, after he was exalted…” In the translation the more neutral “exalted” (a shorter form of “having been exalted”) was used to preserve the ambiguity of the original Greek.

sn The expression the right hand of God represents supreme power and authority. Its use here sets up the quotation of Ps 110:1 in v. 34.

tn The aorist participle λαβών (labwn) could be taken temporally: “So then, after he was exalted…and received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit.” In the translation the more neutral “having received” was used to preserve the ambiguity of the original Greek.

tn Here the genitive τοῦ πνεύματος (tou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the promise consists of the Holy Spirit.

10 sn The use of the verb poured out looks back to 2:17-18, where the same verb occurs twice.

11 sn Sit at my right hand. The word “sit” alludes back to the promise of “seating one on his throne” in v. 30.