Acts 2:23

23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,[a] put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

Acts 2:23 in Other Translations

KJV
23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
ESV
23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
NLT
23 But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him.
MSG
23 this Jesus, following the deliberate and well-thought-out plan of God, was betrayed by men who took the law into their own hands, and was handed over to you. And you pinned him to a cross and killed him.
CSB
23 Though He was delivered up according to God's determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail Him to a cross and kill Him.

Acts 2:23 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 2:23

Him being delivered
By himself, according to his own will, for he gave, or delivered himself for his people; and by his Father, who spared him not, but delivered him up for us all; and by Judas, one of his disciples, who, for a sum of money, delivered him into the hands of the Jews; and by them he was delivered up to Pilate, the Roman governor; and by him back again to the Jews, and to the soldiers, to crucify him: and all this

by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God;
God not only foreknew that it would be, but determined that it should be, who does all things after the counsel of his own will; and this for the salvation of his people, and for the glorifying of his divine perfections: though this fixed resolution, settled purpose, and wise determination of God, did not in the least excuse the sin of Judas in betraying him, or of Pilate in condemning him, or of the Jews in crucifying him; nor did it at all infringe the liberty of their wills in acting, who did what they did, not by force, but voluntarily:

ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain;
they took him in the garden, and bound him, and had him first before the high priest, then before Pilate, the Roman governor, and cried out with one voice, in a most vehement manner, for the crucifying of him, which, at their importunity, was granted, though no fault was found in him; and therefore are justly charged with slaying, or murdering him.

Acts 2:23 In-Context

21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
25 David said about him: “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Isaiah 53:10; Luke 22:22; Acts 3:18; Acts 4:28
  • 2. Matthew 16:21; Luke 24:20; Acts 3:13

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or "of those not having the law" (that is, Gentiles)
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