Psalms 110:1

Psalm 110

A psalm of David.

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

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

Acts 2:34-36

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

The Lord said to my lord,

Sit at my right hand

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

2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified 10  both Lord 11  and Christ.” 12 

Acts 2:1

The Holy Spirit and the Day of Pentecost

2:1 Now 13  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 14  from God – given to me for you – in order to complete 15  the word of God,

Hebrews 1:13

1:13 But to which of the angels 16  has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 17 

Hebrews 10:12-13

10:12 But when this priest 18  had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand 19  of God, 10:13 where he is now waiting 20  until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. 21 

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.

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

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).

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.

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).

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

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

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

tn Or “know for certain.” This term is in an emphatic position in the clause.

10 tn Grk “has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” The clause has been simplified in the translation by replacing the pronoun “him” with the explanatory clause “this Jesus whom you crucified” which comes at the end of the sentence.

11 sn Lord. This looks back to the quotation of Ps 110:1 and the mention of “calling on the Lord” in 2:21. Peter’s point is that the Lord on whom one calls for salvation is Jesus, because he is the one mediating God’s blessing of the Spirit as a sign of the presence of salvation and the last days.

12 tn Or “and Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

13 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.

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

15 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.

16 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).

17 sn A quotation from Ps 110:1.

18 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.

19 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.

20 tn Grk “from then on waiting.”

21 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.