Acts 2:31-38

2:31 David by foreseeing this ¹  spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, ²  that he was neither abandoned to Hades, ³  nor did his body ⁴  experience ⁵  decay. ⁶  2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it. ⁷  2:33 So then, exalted ⁸  to the right hand ⁹  of God, and having received ¹⁰  the promise of the Holy Spirit ¹¹  from the Father, he has poured out ¹²  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 ¹³  at my right hand

2:35 until I make your enemies a footstool ¹⁴  for your feet.”’ ¹⁵ 

2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt ¹⁶  that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified ¹⁷  both Lord ¹⁸  and Christ.” ¹⁹ 

The Response to Peter’s Address

2:37 Now when they heard this, ²⁰  they were acutely distressed ²¹  and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, brothers?” 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized ²²  in the name of Jesus Christ ²³  for ²⁴  the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ²⁵ 

[2:31]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:31]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ sn An allusion to Ps 16:10.

[2:32]  ⁷ tn Or “of him”; Grk “of which [or whom] we are all witnesses” (Acts 1:8).

[2:33]  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.

[2:33]  ⁹ 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.

[2:33]  ¹⁰ 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.

[2:33]  ¹¹ tn Here the genitive τοῦ πνεύματος (tou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the promise consists of the Holy Spirit.

[2:33]  ¹² sn The use of the verb poured out looks back to 2:17-18, where the same verb occurs twice.

[2:34]  ¹³ sn Sit at my right hand. The word “sit” alludes back to the promise of “seating one on his throne” in v. 30.

[2:35]  ¹⁴ sn The metaphor make your enemies a footstool portrays the complete subjugation of the enemies.

[2:35]  ¹⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 110:1, one of the most often-cited OT passages in the NT, pointing to the exaltation of Jesus.

[2:36]  ¹⁶ tn Or “know for certain.” This term is in an emphatic position in the clause.

[2:36]  ¹⁷ 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.

[2:36]  ¹⁸ 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.

[2:36]  ¹⁹ tn Or “and Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:37]  ²⁰ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[2:37]  ²¹ tn Grk “they were pierced to the heart” (an idiom for acute emotional distress).

[2:38]  ²² tn The verb is a third person imperative, but the common translation “let each of you be baptized” obscures the imperative force in English, since it sounds more like a permissive (“each of you may be baptized”) to the average English reader.

[2:38]  ²³ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:38]  ²⁴ tn There is debate over the meaning of εἰς in the prepositional phrase εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν (eis afesin twn Jamartiwn Jumwn, “for/because of/with reference to the forgiveness of your sins”). Although a causal sense has been argued, it is difficult to maintain here. ExSyn 369-71 discusses at least four other ways of dealing with the passage: (1) The baptism referred to here is physical only, and εἰς has the meaning of “for” or “unto.” Such a view suggests that salvation is based on works – an idea that runs counter to the theology of Acts, namely: (a) repentance often precedes baptism (cf. Acts 3:19; 26:20), and (b) salvation is entirely a gift of God, not procured via water baptism (Acts 10:43 [cf. v. 47]; 13:38-39, 48; 15:11; 16:30-31; 20:21; 26:18); (2) The baptism referred to here is spiritual only. Although such a view fits well with the theology of Acts, it does not fit well with the obvious meaning of “baptism” in Acts – especially in this text (cf. 2:41); (3) The text should be repunctuated in light of the shift from second person plural to third person singular back to second person plural again. The idea then would be, “Repent for/with reference to your sins, and let each one of you be baptized…” Such a view is an acceptable way of handling εἰς, but its subtlety and awkwardness count against it; (4) Finally, it is possible that to a first-century Jewish audience (as well as to Peter), the idea of baptism might incorporate both the spiritual reality and the physical symbol. That Peter connects both closely in his thinking is clear from other passages such as Acts 10:47 and 11:15-16. If this interpretation is correct, then Acts 2:38 is saying very little about the specific theological relationship between the symbol and the reality, only that historically they were viewed together. One must look in other places for a theological analysis. For further discussion see R. N. Longenecker, “Acts,” EBC 9:283-85; B. Witherington, Acts, 154-55; F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 129-30; BDAG 290 s.v. εἰς 4.f.

[2:38]  ²⁵ tn Here the genitive τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (tou Jagiou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the gift consists of the Holy Spirit.