12:36a
Speaking by the Holy Spirit, David himself declared: This part of the verse introduces what King David said. The Spirit of God enabled King David to say this. David then wrote it in Psalm 110. Jesus was quoting here from Psalm 110:1.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
The Holy Spirit inspired David to say (Good News Bible)
-or-
It was David himself who said, when inspired by the Holy Spirit (Revised English Bible)
-or-
David, guided by the Holy Spirit, said (God’s Word)
Speaking by the Holy Spirit: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Speaking by the Holy Spirit is literally “by/in the Holy Spirit.” The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the word Speaking. The phrase by the Holy Spirit indicates that the Holy Spirit helped and guided David when he spoke.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
inspired by the Holy Spirit (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
The Holy Spirit inspired David to say (Good News Bible)
Holy Spirit: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Holy Spirit refers to the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is God, together with God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit is Spirit in the sense that he is a living being who does not have a physical body. He is Holy in the sense that he is God and unique from every other being. He is perfect in every way and is completely pure and sinless.
Here are some other ways to translate Holy Spirit:
Spirit/Breath of/from God
-or-
Holy/Sacred Spirit
Do not imply that the Holy Spirit is like the ghost of a dead person or that God has died.
See how you translated this term in 1:8b.
David himself: Here the word himself emphasizes David. David himself spoke about the Messiah and called him “lord.” Express that emphasis in a natural way in your language. In some languages this emphasis may be implied by the context. Some English versions leave it implicit.
12:36b
The Lord said to my Lord: This clause indicates that God spoke to the Messiah. In some languages it may be necessary to make the meaning more explicit. For example:
The Lord said to my Master
-or-
the Lord God said to my lord
The Lord: The phrase The Lord refers to God. It is a translation of God’s personal name in Hebrew. Here are some other ways to translate Lord:
Master/Chief
-or-
Ruler
In some languages people may not naturally use a word that means “master” to refer to God. If speakers of your language do not understand that your word for “Lord” refers to God in this context, here are other ways to translate it:
• Use your word for God.
• Use your word for God and indicates that he is the Lord. For example:
God the Lord
-or-
Master God
If you include the word for God in your translation of Lord, you may want to include a footnote to give the literal Greek meaning. For example:
Here the Greek text is literally “Lord.”
See Lord, Context 2, in the Glossary.
my Lord: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as my Lord means “my lord” or “my master.” Here are some other ways to translate my lord:
my chief
-or-
my ruler
See Lord, Context 3, in the Glossary.
12:36c
Sit at My right hand: In Jewish culture, if a king asked someone to sit beside him on the right, it symbolized both honor and authority. It meant that the king wanted people to honor this person in a special way. It also meant that this person had authority to rule along with the king.
In this context, God was telling the Messiah to take this position of honor and to rule along with him (God). (The meaning “authority to co-rule” is mentioned by several commentators. Edwards (page 376) explains that in the context of the Psalm, the king of Israel was crowned as God’s vice-regent. His power at God’s right hand symbolized his authority to rule.) In some languages, it may be necessary to make the meaning more explicit. For example:
Sit here in the place of honor at my right side
-or-
Sit down here at the right to join me in ruling
If you do not make this implied information explicit in the text itself, you may want to add a footnote that explains the meaning.
12:36d
until: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as until here means “during the time that” or “while.” The word until does not imply here that the Messiah would stop sitting at God’s right side after God had defeated his enemies.
I put Your enemies under Your feet: God spoke in a figurative way here. This clause describes a king who sits on his throne and rests his feet on the back or neck of an enemy king. (Some Greek manuscripts have “under your feet” here, and other Greek manuscripts have “your footstool” here. But both phrases have basically the same meaning.) This action indicates that he has conquered the enemy king and completely controls him and his people. God was promising to do this to the enemies of the Messiah.
If the phrase under Your feet is not understood in your language, here are some other ways to translate this:
while I put your enemies completely under your control
-or-
while I humble your enemies and make them like a stool for your feet
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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