The Meaning of Acts 2:34 Explained

Acts 2:34

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,

YLT: for David did not go up to the heavens, and he saith himself: The Lord saith to my lord, Sit thou at my right hand,

Darby: For David has not ascended into the heavens, but he says himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit at my right hand

ASV: For David ascended not into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For  David  is not  ascended  into  the heavens:  but  he saith  himself,  The LORD  said  unto my  Lord,  Sit thou  on  my  right hand, 

What does Acts 2:34 Mean?

Context Summary

Acts 2:25-36 - David's Lord And Ours
When one considers the vast result of this address, one wonders at its simplicity. It is almost entirely a string of apt quotations. But what may not the Word of God do, when it is wielded by the mighty Spirit! Our Lord might have chanted to Himself Acts 2:26-28, when He descended, step by step, the dark staircase of death. God can never leave us in despair. At our lowest, He is nearest. There are ways up to life from the lowest deeps. David spake deeper than he knew, Acts 2:30. Here is an illustration of 1 Peter 1:11-12.
In Acts 2:33 we see the fulfillment of John 14:16. We can almost hear the Father asking what guerdon or reward He should give the Son for His obedience unto blood, and our Lord replying: "Father, I want nothing for myself, but only that I may receive into my divine-human nature the same fullness of the Holy Spirit that I had with thee before the worlds were made." And it pleased the Father that the fullness of the Godhead should dwell in Him bodily, Colossians 2:9. Then, because He was united to man by His humanity, He was able to impart to him the fullness of Pentecost. [source]

Chapter Summary: Acts 2

1  The apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, and speaking various languages,
12  are admired by some, and derided by others;
14  whom Peter disproves;
37  he baptizes a great number who were converted;
41  who afterwards devoutly and charitably converse together;
43  the apostles working many miracles,
46  and God daily increasing his church

Greek Commentary for Acts 2:34

Ascended not [ουανεβη]
It is more emphatic than that: For not David ascended into the heavens. Peter quotes Psalm 110:1 as proof. No passage in the O.T. is so constantly quoted as Messianic as this. “St. Peter does not demand belief upon his own assertion, but he again appeals to the Scriptures, and to words which could not have received a fulfilment in the case of David” (Knowling). [source]
Sit thou [κατου]
Late Koiné{[28928]}š form for earlier κατησο — kathēso present middle imperative second singular of κατημαι — kathēmai f0). [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Acts 2:34

Acts 7:55 And Jesus standing [και Ιησουν εστωτα]
Full of the Holy Spirit, gazing steadfastly into heaven, he saw God‘s glory and Jesus “standing” as if he had risen to cheer the brave Stephen. Elsewhere (save Acts 7:56 also) he is pictured as sitting at the right hand of God (the Session of Christ) as in Matthew 26:64; Mark 16:19; Acts 2:34; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3. [source]
Hebrews 1:13 On my right hand [ἐκ δεξιῶν μοῦ]
Lit. “from my right hand.” The usual formula is ἐν δεξίᾳ . The genitive indicates moving from the right hand and taking the seat. The meaning is, “be associated with me in my royal dignity.” Comp. Daniel 7:13, Daniel 7:14, and the combination of the Psalm and Daniel in Christ's words, Mark 14:62. Comp. also Matthew 24:30; Acts 2:34; 1 Corinthians 15:25; 1 Peter 3:22. [source]

What do the individual words in Acts 2:34 mean?

Not for David ascended into the heavens he says however himself Said the Lord to [the] Lord of me Sit at [the] right hand
Οὐ γὰρ Δαυὶδ ἀνέβη εἰς τοὺς οὐρανούς λέγει δὲ αὐτός Εἶπεν ‹ὁ› Κύριος τῷ Κυρίῳ μου Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν

Δαυὶδ  David 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Δαβίδ 
Sense: second king of Israel, and ancestor of Jesus Christ.
ἀνέβη  ascended 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀναβαίνω  
Sense: ascend.
εἰς  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: εἰς  
Sense: into, unto, to, towards, for, among.
οὐρανούς  heavens 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: οὐρανός  
Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it.
λέγει  he  says 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
δὲ  however 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
αὐτός  himself 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Nominative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Εἶπεν  Said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
Κύριος  Lord 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
Κυρίῳ  [the]  Lord 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
μου  of  me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
Κάθου  Sit 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Middle or Passive, 2nd Person Singular
Root: κάθημαι  
Sense: to sit down, seat one’s self.
ἐκ  at 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐκ 
Sense: out of, from, by, away from.
δεξιῶν  [the]  right  hand 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root: δεξιός  
Sense: the right, the right hand.