Luke has previously quoted Psalm 16.10 (see 2.27). It is quite likely that in the early Christian tradition this verse had become closely attached to the verse taken from Isaiah and that together they formed a type of “testimony” to Jesus. There is a complication in the identification of the pronoun he in verse 35, for in both of the preceding expressions of direct discourse it is God who is speaking. However, the he of verse 35 cannot be God for then you would refer to someone else other than God. One must therefore introduce some identification for he by saying “as the Scripture says,” “as it is said in the Scripture,” or “as the writer of the Psalm says.” In fact, in some instances it is necessary to indicate that this particular expression is directed to God, “as the writer of the Psalm says, speaking to God.”

Your devoted servant is often rendered as “your servant who is devoted to you” or “your servant who is loyal to you.” The Greek word for devoted here and for sacred in verse 34 is the same. This is apparently the only meaningful link between the quotations.

To suffer decay is “to die and to rot.” In a sense “to die” implies the decomposition of the body, but the special emphasis upon “rotting” or “decay” (already mentioned in v. 34) may need to be made explicit, for note also the emphasis upon this same theme in verses 36 and 37.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .