Psalms 2:6-10

2:6 “I myself ¹  have installed ²  my king

on Zion, my holy hill.”

2:7 The king says, ³  “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me: ⁴ 

‘You are my son! ⁵  This very day I have become your father!

2:8 Ask me,

and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, ⁶ 

the ends of the earth as your personal property.

2:9 You will break them ⁷  with an iron scepter; ⁸ 

you will smash them like a potter’s jar!’” ⁹ 

2:10 So now, you kings, do what is wise; ¹⁰ 

you rulers of the earth, submit to correction! ¹¹ 

Psalms 45:3-6

45:3 Strap your sword to your thigh, O warrior! ¹² 

Appear in your majestic splendor! ¹³ 

45:4 Appear in your majesty and be victorious! ¹⁴ 

Ride forth for the sake of what is right, ¹⁵ 

on behalf of justice! ¹⁶ 

Then your right hand will accomplish mighty acts! ¹⁷ 

45:5 Your arrows are sharp

and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.

Nations fall at your feet. ¹⁸ 

45:6 Your throne, ¹⁹  O God, is permanent. ²⁰ 

The scepter ²¹  of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.

Psalms 110:1

Psalm 110 ²² 

A psalm of David.

110:1 Here is the Lord’s proclamation ²³  to my lord: ²⁴ 

“Sit down at my right hand ²⁵  until I make your enemies your footstool!” ²⁶ 

Matthew 22:44

22:44 ‘The Lord said to my lord, ²⁷ 

“Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies under your feet”’? ²⁸ 

Mark 12:36

12:36 David himself, by the Holy Spirit, said,

‘The Lord said to my lord, ²⁹ 

“Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ ³⁰ 

Luke 20:42-43

20:42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms,

‘The Lord said to my ³¹  lord,

“Sit at my right hand,

20:43 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ ³² 

Acts 2:34

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

‘The Lord said to my lord,

“Sit ³³  at my right hand

Ephesians 1:22

1:22 And God ³⁴  put ³⁵  all things under Christ’s ³⁶  feet, ³⁷  and he gave him to the church as head over all things. ³⁸ 

Hebrews 1:13

1:13 But to which of the angels ³⁹  has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? ⁴⁰ 

Hebrews 10:12-13

10:12 But when this priest ⁴¹  had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand ⁴²  of God, 10:13 where he is now waiting ⁴³  until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. ⁴⁴ 

[2:6]  ¹ tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”

[2:6]  ² tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”

[2:7]  ³ tn The words “the king says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The speaker is the Lord’s chosen king.

[2:7]  ⁴ tn Or “I will relate the decree. The Lord said to me” (in accordance with the Masoretic accentuation).

[2:7]  ⁵ sn ‘You are my son!’ The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 89:26-27). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.

[2:8]  ⁶ sn I will give you the nations. The Lord promises the Davidic king universal dominion.

[2:9]  ⁷ tc The LXX reads “you will shepherd them.” This reading, quoted in the Greek text of the NT in Rev 2:27; 12:5; 19:15, assumes a different vocalization of the consonantal Hebrew text and understands the verb as רָעָה (ra’ah, “to shepherd”) rather than רָעָע (ra’a’, “to break”). But the presence of נָפַץ (nafats, “to smash”) in the next line strongly favors the MT vocalization.

[2:9]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term שֵׁבֶט (shevet) can refer to a “staff” or “rod,” but here it probably refers to the Davidic king’s royal scepter, symbolizing his sovereignty.

[2:9]  ⁹ sn Like a potter’s jar. Before the Davidic king’s awesome power, the rebellious nations are like fragile pottery.

[2:10]  ¹⁰ sn The speaker here is either the psalmist or the Davidic king, who now addresses the rebellious kings.

[2:10]  ¹¹ tn The Niphal has here a tolerative nuance; the kings are urged to submit themselves to the advice being offered.

[45:3]  ¹² tn Or “mighty one.”

[45:3]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew text has simply, “your majesty and your splendor,” which probably refers to the king’s majestic splendor when he appears in full royal battle regalia.

[45:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and your majesty, be successful.” The syntax is awkward. The phrase “and your majesty” at the beginning of the verse may be accidentally repeated (dittography); it appears at the end of v. 3.

[45:4]  ¹⁵ tn Or “for the sake of truth.”

[45:4]  ¹⁶ tc The precise meaning of the MT is uncertain. The form עַנְוָה (’anvah) occurs only here. One could emend the text to עֲנָוָה וְצֶדֶק (’anavah vÿtsedeq, “[for the sake of truth], humility, and justice”). In this case “humility” would perhaps allude to the king’s responsibility to “serve” his people by promoting justice (cf. NIV “in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness”). The present translation assumes an emendation to יַעַן (ya’an, “because; on account of”) which would form a suitable parallel to עַל־דְּבַר (’al-dÿvar, “because; for the sake of”) in the preceding line.

[45:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and your right hand will teach you mighty acts”; or “and may your right hand teach you mighty acts.” After the imperatives in the first half of the verse, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive likely indicates purpose (“so that your right hand might teach you mighty acts”) or result (see the present translation). The “right hand” here symbolizes the king’s military strength. His right hand will “teach” him mighty acts by performing them and thereby causing him to experience their magnificence.

[45:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “your arrows are sharp – peoples beneath you fall – in the heart of the enemies of the king.” The choppy style reflects the poet’s excitement.

[45:6]  ¹⁹ sn The king’s throne here symbolizes his rule.

[45:6]  ²⁰ tn Or “forever and ever.”

[45:6]  ²¹ sn The king’s scepter symbolizes his royal authority.

[110:1]  ²² 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.

[110:1]  ²³ tn The word נְאֻם (nÿ’um) is used frequently in the OT of a formal divine announcement through a prophet.

[110:1]  ²⁴ 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).

[110:1]  ²⁵ 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.

[110:1]  ²⁶ 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).

[22:44]  ²⁷ sn The Lord said to my Lord. With David being the speaker, this indicates his respect for his descendant (referred to as my Lord). Jesus was arguing, as the ancient exposition assumed, that the passage is about the Lord’s anointed. The passage looks at an enthronement of this figure and a declaration of honor for him as he takes his place at the side of God. In Jerusalem, the king’s palace was located to the right of the temple to indicate this kind of relationship. Jesus was pressing the language here to get his opponents to reflect on how great Messiah is.

[22:44]  ²⁸ sn A quotation from Ps 110:1.

[12:36]  ²⁹ sn The Lord said to my Lord. With David being the speaker, this indicates his respect for his descendant (referred to as my Lord). Jesus was arguing, as the ancient exposition assumed, that the passage is about the Lord’s anointed. The passage looks at an enthronement of this figure and a declaration of honor for him as he takes his place at the side of God. In Jerusalem, the king’s palace was located to the right of the temple to indicate this kind of relationship. Jesus was pressing the language here to get his opponents to reflect on how great Messiah is.

[12:36]  ³⁰ sn A quotation from Ps 110:1.

[20:42]  ³¹ sn The Lord said to my Lord. With David being the speaker, this indicates his respect for his descendant (referred to as my Lord). Jesus was arguing, as the ancient exposition assumed, that the passage is about the Lord’s anointed. The passage looks at an enthronement of this figure and a declaration of honor for him as he takes his place at the side of God. In Jerusalem, the king’s palace was located to the right of the temple to indicate this kind of relationship. Jesus was pressing the language here to get his opponents to reflect on how great Messiah is.

[20:43]  ³² sn A quotation from Ps 110:1.

[2:34]  ³³ sn Sit at my right hand. The word “sit” alludes back to the promise of “seating one on his throne” in v. 30.

[1:22]  ³⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:22]  ³⁵ tn Grk “subjected.”

[1:22]  ³⁶ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:22]  ³⁷ sn An allusion to Ps 8:6.

[1:22]  ³⁸ tn Grk “and he gave him as head over all things to the church.”

[1:13]  ³⁹ 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).

[1:13]  ⁴⁰ sn A quotation from Ps 110:1.

[10:12]  ⁴¹ 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.

[10:12]  ⁴² sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.

[10:13]  ⁴³ tn Grk “from then on waiting.”

[10:13]  ⁴⁴ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.