Acts 2:27-31

2:27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades, ¹ 

nor permit your Holy One to experience ²  decay.

2:28 You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will make me full of joy with your presence.’ ³ 

2:29 “Brothers, ⁴  I can speak confidently ⁵  to you about our forefather ⁶  David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 2:30 So then, because ⁷  he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants ⁸  on his throne, ⁹  2:31 David by foreseeing this ¹⁰  spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, ¹¹  that he was neither abandoned to Hades, ¹²  nor did his body ¹³  experience ¹⁴  decay. ¹⁵ 

Acts 13:35-38

13:35 Therefore he also says in another psalm, ¹⁶  ‘You will not permit your Holy One ¹⁷  to experience ¹⁸  decay.’ ¹⁹  13:36 For David, after he had served ²⁰  God’s purpose in his own generation, died, ²¹  was buried with his ancestors, ²²  and experienced ²³  decay, 13:37 but the one ²⁴  whom God raised up did not experience ²⁵  decay. 13:38 Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through this one ²⁶  forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,

Acts 13:1

The Church at Antioch Commissions Barnabas and Saul

13:1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: ²⁷  Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, ²⁸  Lucius the Cyrenian, ²⁹  Manaen (a close friend of Herod ³⁰  the tetrarch ³¹  from childhood ³² ) and Saul.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³³  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ³⁴  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

[2:27]  ¹ tn Or “will not abandon my soul to Hades.” Often “Hades” is the equivalent of the Hebrew term Sheol, the place of the dead.

[2:27]  ² 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.”

[2:28]  ³ sn A quotation from Ps 16:8-11.

[2:29]  ⁴ tn Since this represents a continuation of the address beginning in v.14 and continued in v. 22, “brothers” has been used here rather than a generic expression like “brothers and sisters.”

[2:29]  ⁵ sn Peter’s certainty is based on well-known facts.

[2:29]  ⁶ tn Or “about our noted ancestor,” “about the patriarch.”

[2:30]  ⁷ tn The participles ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) and εἰδώς (eidw") are translated as causal adverbial participles.

[2:30]  ⁸ tn Grk “one from the fruit of his loins.” “Loins” is the traditional translation of ὀσφῦς (osfu"), referring to the male genital organs. A literal rendering like “one who came from his genital organs” would be regarded as too specific and perhaps even vulgar by many contemporary readers. Most modern translations thus render the phrase “one of his descendants.”

[2:30]  ⁹ sn An allusion to Ps 132:11 and 2 Sam 7:12-13, the promise in the Davidic covenant.

[2:31]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “David foreseeing spoke.” The participle προϊδών (proidwn) is taken as indicating means. It could also be translated as a participle of attendant circumstance: “David foresaw [this] and spoke.” The word “this” is supplied in either case as an understood direct object (direct objects in Greek were often omitted, but must be supplied for the modern English reader).

[2:31]  ¹¹ tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:31]  ¹² tn Or “abandoned in the world of the dead.” The translation “world of the dead” for Hades is suggested by L&N 1.19. The phrase is an allusion to Ps 16:10.

[2:31]  ¹³ tn Grk “flesh.” See vv. 26b-27. The reference to “body” in this verse picks up the reference to “body” in v. 26. The Greek term σάρξ (sarx) in both verses literally means “flesh”; however, the translation “body” stresses the lack of decay of his physical body. The point of the verse is not merely the lack of decay of his flesh alone, but the resurrection of his entire person, as indicated by the previous parallel line “he was not abandoned to Hades.”

[2:31]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “see,” but the literal translation of the phrase “see decay” could be misunderstood to mean simply “look at decay,” while here “see decay” is really figurative for “experience decay.”

[2:31]  ¹⁵ sn An allusion to Ps 16:10.

[13:35]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Therefore he also says in another”; the word “psalm” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[13:35]  ¹⁷ 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.

[13:35]  ¹⁸ 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.”

[13:35]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 16:10.

[13:36]  ²⁰ tn The participle ὑπηρετήσας (Juphrethsa") is taken temporally.

[13:36]  ²¹ 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.

[13:36]  ²² tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “was gathered to his fathers” (a Semitic idiom).

[13:36]  ²³ 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.

[13:37]  ²⁴ sn The one whom God raised up refers to Jesus.

[13:37]  ²⁵ 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.”

[13:38]  ²⁶ tn That is, Jesus. This pronoun is in emphatic position in the Greek text. Following this phrase in the Greek text is the pronoun ὑμῖν (Jumin, “to you”), so that the emphasis for the audience is that “through Jesus to you” these promises have come.

[13:1]  ²⁷ sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).

[13:1]  ²⁸ sn Simeon may well have been from North Africa, since the Latin loanword Niger refers to someone as “dark-complexioned.”

[13:1]  ²⁹ sn The Cyrenian refers to a native of the city of Cyrene, on the coast of northern Africa west of Egypt.

[13:1]  ³⁰ sn Herod is generally taken as a reference to Herod Antipas, who governed Galilee from 4 b.c. to a.d. 39, who had John the Baptist beheaded, and who is mentioned a number of times in the gospels.

[13:1]  ³¹ tn Or “the governor.”

[13:1]  ³² tn Or “(a foster brother of Herod the tetrarch).” The meaning “close friend from childhood” is given by L&N 34.15, but the word can also mean “foster brother” (L&N 10.51). BDAG 976 s.v. σύντροφας states, “pert. to being brought up with someone, either as a foster-brother or as a companion/friend,” which covers both alternatives. Context does not given enough information to be certain which is the case here, although many modern translations prefer the meaning “close friend from childhood.”

[1:1]  ³³ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ³⁴ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.