Isaiah 42:1

The Lord Commissions His Special Servant

42:1 ¹ “Here is my servant whom I support,

my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.

I have placed my spirit on him;

he will make just decrees ²  for the nations. ³ 

Isaiah 50:7-9

50:7 But the sovereign Lord helps me,

so I am not humiliated.

For that reason I am steadfastly resolved; ⁴ 

I know I will not be put to shame.

50:8 The one who vindicates me is close by.

Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other! ⁵ 

Who is my accuser? ⁶  Let him challenge me! ⁷ 

50:9 Look, the sovereign Lord helps me.

Who dares to condemn me?

Look, all of them will wear out like clothes;

a moth will eat away at them.

Acts 2:24-32

2:24 But God raised him up, ⁸  having released ⁹  him from the pains ¹⁰  of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power. ¹¹  2:25 For David says about him,

‘I saw the Lord always in front of me, ¹² 

for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken.

2:26 Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced;

my body ¹³  also will live in hope,

2:27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades, ¹⁴ 

nor permit your Holy One to experience ¹⁵  decay.

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

you will make me full of joy with your presence.’ ¹⁶ 

2:29 “Brothers, ¹⁷  I can speak confidently ¹⁸  to you about our forefather ¹⁹  David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 2:30 So then, because ²⁰  he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants ²¹  on his throne, ²²  2:31 David by foreseeing this ²³  spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, ²⁴  that he was neither abandoned to Hades, ²⁵  nor did his body ²⁶  experience ²⁷  decay. ²⁸  2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it. ²⁹ 

[42:1]  ¹ sn Verses 1-7 contain the first of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” which describe the ministry of a special, ideal servant who accomplishes God’s purposes for Israel and the nations. This song depicts the servant as a just king who brings justice to the earth and relief for the oppressed. The other songs appear in 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12.

[42:1]  ² tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[42:1]  ³ sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.

[50:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “Therefore I set my face like flint.”

[50:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “Let us stand together!”

[50:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “Who is the master of my judgment?”

[50:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “let him approach me”; NAB, NIV “Let him confront me.”

[2:24]  ⁸ tn Grk “Whom God raised up.”

[2:24]  ⁹ tn Or “having freed.”

[2:24]  ¹⁰ 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.

[2:24]  ¹¹ tn Or “for him to be held by it” (in either case, “it” refers to death’s power).

[2:25]  ¹² tn Or “always before me.”

[2:26]  ¹³ tn Grk “my flesh.”

[2:27]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 16:8-11.

[2:29]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ sn Peter’s certainty is based on well-known facts.

[2:29]  ¹⁹ tn Or “about our noted ancestor,” “about the patriarch.”

[2:30]  ²⁰ tn The participles ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) and εἰδώς (eidw") are translated as causal adverbial participles.

[2:30]  ²¹ 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]  ²² sn An allusion to Ps 132:11 and 2 Sam 7:12-13, the promise in the Davidic covenant.

[2:31]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:31]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ sn An allusion to Ps 16:10.

[2:32]  ²⁹ tn Or “of him”; Grk “of which [or whom] we are all witnesses” (Acts 1:8).