Psalms 110:1

Psalm 110 ¹ 

A psalm of David.

110:1 Here is the Lord’s proclamation ²  to my lord: ³ 

“Sit down at my right hand ⁴  until I make your enemies your footstool!” ⁵ 

Acts 2:34-35

2:34 For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says,

‘The Lord said to my lord,

“Sit ⁶  at my right hand

2:35 until I make your enemies a footstool ⁷  for your feet.”’ ⁸ 

Acts 2:1

The Holy Spirit and the Day of Pentecost

2:1 Now ⁹  when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

Colossians 1:25

1:25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship ¹⁰  from God – given to me for you – in order to complete ¹¹  the word of God,

Hebrews 1:3

1:3 The Son is ¹²  the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, ¹³  and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. ¹⁴ 

Hebrews 1:13

1:13 But to which of the angels ¹⁵  has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? ¹⁶ 

Hebrews 10:12-13

10:12 But when this priest ¹⁷  had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand ¹⁸  of God, 10:13 where he is now waiting ¹⁹  until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. ²⁰ 

Hebrews 12:2

12:2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. ²¹ 

¹ sn Psalm 110. In this royal psalm the psalmist announces God’s oracle to the Davidic king. The first part of the oracle appears in v. 1, the second in v. 4. In vv. 2-3 the psalmist addresses the king, while in vv. 5-7 he appears to address God.

² tn The word נְאֻם (nÿ’um) is used frequently in the OT of a formal divine announcement through a prophet.

³ sn My lord. In the psalm’s original context the speaker is an unidentified prophetic voice in the royal court. In the course of time the psalm is applied to each successive king in the dynasty and ultimately to the ideal Davidic king. NT references to the psalm understand David to be speaking about his “lord,” the Messiah. (See Matt 22:43-45; Mark 12:36-37; Luke 20:42-44; Acts 2:34-35).

⁴ tn To sit at the “right hand” of the king was an honor (see 1 Kgs 2:19). In Ugaritic myth (CTA 4 v. 108-10) the artisan god Kothar-and Khasis is described as sitting at the right hand of the storm god Baal. See G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 61-62.

⁵ sn When the Lord made his covenant with David, he promised to subdue the king’s enemies (see 2 Sam 7:9-11; Ps 89:22-23).

⁶ sn Sit at my right hand. The word “sit” alludes back to the promise of “seating one on his throne” in v. 30.

⁷ sn The metaphor make your enemies a footstool portrays the complete subjugation of the enemies.

⁸ sn A quotation from Ps 110:1, one of the most often-cited OT passages in the NT, pointing to the exaltation of Jesus.

⁹ tn Grk “And” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style does not.

¹⁰ tn BDAG 697 s.v. οἰκονομία 1.b renders the term here as “divine office.”

¹¹ tn See BDAG 828 s.v. πληρόω 3. The idea here seems to be that the apostle wants to “complete the word of God” in that he wants to preach it to every person in the known world (cf. Rom 15:19). See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 82.

¹² tn Grk “who being…and sustaining.” Heb 1:1-4 form one skillfully composed sentence in Greek, but it must be broken into shorter segments to correspond to contemporary English usage, which does not allow for sentences of this length and complexity.

¹³ tn Grk “by the word of his power.”

¹⁴ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1, quoted often in Hebrews.

¹⁵ sn The parallel phrases to which of the angels in vv. 5 and 13 show the unity of this series of quotations (vv. 5-14) in revealing the superiority of the Son over angels (v. 4).

¹⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 110:1.

¹⁷ tn Grk “this one.” This pronoun refers to Jesus, but “this priest” was used in the translation to make the contrast between the Jewish priests in v. 11 and Jesus as a priest clearer in English.

¹⁸ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.

¹⁹ tn Grk “from then on waiting.”

²⁰ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.

²¹ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.