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For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
Acts 2:34 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand,
  • KJV For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
  • BSB For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand
  • NKJV “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand,
  • NASB For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand,

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Peter notes David did not ascend to heaven, then quotes his words about the Lord speaking to his Lord. It shows the psalm points beyond David to Christ.

Overview

Citing Psalm 110, Peter argues David could not be speaking of himself, since he did not ascend. David's 'Lord' is the Messiah, now seated at God's right hand. This establishes Jesus' supreme exaltation and lordship.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • Ps 110:1A Psalm by David. Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
  • Matt 22:42–45saying, “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “Of David.”
  • Heb 1:13But which of the angels has he told at any time, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet?”
  • Eph 1:22He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the assembly,
  • Mark 12:36For David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet.”’
  • 1 Cor 15:25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
  • Luke 20:42–43David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 2:34YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.

How Acts 2:34 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.