Acts 13:32
in Acts 13And now we proclaim to you the good news: What God promised our fathers
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And we bring you good tidings of the promise made unto the fathers,
KJV
And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
⋯
This verse in Acts 13
Commentary
8 notes on this verse"And we declare to you the promise made to our fathers, that God has fulfilled this to our children." In Greek it reads more consistently: "That God has fulfilled this to their children." It follows:
This site's exposition
we declare unto you glad tidings
on Acts 13:32-33
We declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise made unto the fathers God hath fulfilled unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again, Paul quoting Psalm 2:7, thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee, as fulfilled specifically in the resurrection. Two readings of that day sit side by side in the tradition: one takes it as marking the resurrection itself as a public installation into messianic kingship, the reading Paul's own sentence here favors; another reads it of the eternal generation of the Son, applied here only by way of application rather than the verse's original sense. Both readings honor the text Paul actually quotes without needing to settle the question against each other, since Paul's own point is narrower, that the resurrection is itself the fulfillment of a Davidic promise.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that He hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second Psalm, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee." But, "He hath raised up Jesus again: This day," he says, "I have begotten thee." Aye, upon this the rest follows of course. Why did he not allege some text by which they would be persuaded that forgiveness of sins is by Him? Because the great point with them was to show, in the first place, that He was risen: this being acknowledged, the other was unquestionable. The reading "In the Second Psalm" is the best attested. If it is correct, we must suppose that what we now call the first psalm was considered introductory and that our second psalm was counted as the first. The expression "this day have I begotten thee" refers evidently to the resurrection of Christ. The resurrection is conceived as the solemn inauguration of Christ into his office as theocratic king represented under the figure of begetting.
Let Celsus, and those who agree with him, tell us whether it is at all like "an ass's shadow" that the Jewish prophets predicted the birth place of him who became the ruler of those who had lived righteous lives and are called the "heritage" of God, that Emmanuel was conceived by a virgin, that such signs and wonders were performed by him who was the subject of prophecy, that his word spread so speedily that the voice of his apostles went forth into all the earth, that he suffered after his condemnation by the Jews, and that he rose again from the dead.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And we declare unto you glad tidings,....
The preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles at their request, and upon the Jews' refusal of it, wherein the apostles justified themselves against the displeasure which the Jews conceived at it, and God owned them,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
We declare unto you glad tidings - We proclaim that Gospel to you which is the fulfillment of the promise made unto the fathers.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And we - We who are here present. Paul and Barnabas. Declare unto you glad tidings - We preach the gospel the good news. To a Jew, nothing could be more grateful intelligence than that the Messiah had come; to a sinner convinced of his sins nothing can be more cheering than to hear of a Saviour. The promise ... - The promise here refers to all that had been spoken in the Old Testament respecting the advent, sufferings, death, and resurrection of Christ.
The words behind it
10 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἡμεῖς | hemeis | we ourselves | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ὑμᾶς | humas | to you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| εὐαγγελιζόμεθα | euangelizometha | evangelise | G2097 → | 54 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πρὸς | pros | to | G4314 → | 700 times |
| τοὺς | tous | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πατέρας | pateras | fathers | G3962 → | 410 times |
| ἐπαγγελίαν | epangelian | promise | G1860 → | 52 times |
| γενομένην, | genomenen | having been made, | G1096 → | 667 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἡμεῖςwe ourselves
hemeisG3165 →1936 times
ὑμᾶςto you
humasG4771 →2973 times
εὐαγγελιζόμεθαevangelise
euangelizomethaG2097 →54 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
πρὸςto
prosG4314 →700 times
τοὺςthe
tousG3588 →19766 times
πατέραςfathers
paterasG3962 →410 times
ἐπαγγελίανpromise
epangelianG1860 →52 times
γενομένην,having been made,
genomenenG1096 →667 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Micah 5:2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days…
it leads to
- Matthew 2:6
‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people…
- John 7:42
Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”
- Isaiah 9:6–7
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of…
- Matthew 2:6
Through
Romans 4:13For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
it leads to
- Galatians 3:29
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
- Galatians 3:29
Through
Jeremiah 23:5Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
it leads to
- Isaiah 4:2
On that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of Israel’s survivors.
- Luke 1:32–33
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
- Isaiah 52:13
Behold, My Servant will prosper; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
- Isaiah 9:7
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness…
- Isaiah 4:2
Where this verse is studied
About Acts
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Retractions on Acts; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 29; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, AGAINST CELSUS 3.2.