Acts 2:33

33 Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has poured out this that you see and hear.

Acts 2:33 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 2:33

Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted
After his resurrection he ascended to heaven, and was exalted in human nature; "to the right hand of God", as the Ethiopic version; and the Arabic version used by De Dieu read; an honour that never was conferred on any creature, angels or men, besides: or he was exalted and raised to the high honour and dignity of a Prince and Saviour, of Lord, Head, and King, so as to have a name, dominion, and authority over all, by the mighty power of God, which is sometimes called his right hand; see ( Psalms 118:15 Psalms 118:16 ) .

and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost;
which the Father had promised to pour forth in the last days, ( Isaiah 44:3 ) ( Joel 2:28 ) and which Christ had promised to send from the Father, ( John 14:16 John 14:26 ) ( 15:26 ) ( 16:7 ) and which, upon his ascension and exaltation, he received as Mediator from him; see ( Psalms 68:18 ) compared with ( Ephesians 4:8 )

he hath shed forth this;
this Holy Spirit, or promised Spirit, these gifts of his; and so the Syriac version renders it, "he hath shed forth this gift"; which expresses both the plenty and abundance of the gifts bestowed, and the liberality of Christ in the donation of them: it is added,

which ye now see and hear;
meaning the cloven tongues, as of fire, which they saw sitting on the disciples, and the various languages which they heard them speak. The Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions, leave out the word "now": and the Syriac, in the room of it, reads, "behold".

Acts 2:33 In-Context

31 [by] having foreseen [this], he spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he abandoned in Hades nor did his flesh experience decay.
32 This Jesus God raised up, of which we all are witnesses.
33 Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has poured out this that you see and hear.
34 For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." '

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Some manuscripts have "both see and hear"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.