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Matthew 22:44

in Matthew 22

‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I put thine enemies underneath thy feet?

KJV

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?

This verse in Matthew 22

Commentary

15 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 420.

This question is still available for us against the Jews; for these who believe that Christ is yet to come, assert that He is a mere man, though a holy one, of the race of David. Let us then thus taught by the Lord ask them, If He be mere man, and only the Son of David, how does David call Him his Lord? To evade the truth of this question, the Jews invent many frivolous answers.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers5 voices

A commentator

Jerome

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 420.

This passage is out of the 109th Psalm. Christ is therefore called David's Lord, not in respect of His descent from him, but in respect of His eternal generation from the Father, wherein He was before His fleshly Father. And he calls Him Lord, not by a mere chance, nor of his own thought, but by the Holy Spirit.

A commentator

Remigius of Rheims

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 533.

proposed

That He says, Sit thou on my right hand, is not to be taken as though God had a body, and either a right hand or a left hand; but to sit on the right hand of God is to abide in the honour and equality of the Father's majesty. But till is used for indefinite time, that the meaning be, Sit Thou for ever, and for ever hold thine enemies beneath thy feet.

A commentator

Tertullian

Against Marcion Book V · Written before 220.

proposed

Therefore, (as they further hold, ) those other words, "Before the morning star did I beget thee from the womb," are applicable to Hezekiah, and to the birth of Hezekiah.

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 71 · Written before 407.

proposed

And that they may not say, that it was in flattery he so called Him, and that this was a human judgment, see what He saith, "How then doth David in spirit call Him Lord?" See how submissively He introduces the sentence and judgment concerning Himself. First, He had said, "What think ye? Whose Son is He?" so by a question to bring them to an answer. Then since they said, "the Son of David," He said not, "And yet David saith these things," but again in this order of a question, "How then doth David in spirit call Him Lord?" in order that the sayings might not give offense to them. Wherefore neither did He say, What think ye of me, but of Christ. For this reason the apostles also reasoned submissively, saying, "Let us speak freely of the Patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried." And He Himself too in like manner for this cause introduces the doctrine in the way of question and inference, saying, "How then doth David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on my right hand, until I make Thy foes Thy footstool;" and again, "If David then call Him Lord, how is He then his Son," not taking away the fact that He is his Son, away with the thought; for He would not then have reproved Peter for this, but to correct their secret thoughts. So that when He saith, "How is He his Son?" He meaneth this, not so as ye say. For they said, that He is Son only, and not also Lord. And this after the testimony, and then submissively, "If David then call Him Lord, how is He his Son?"

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 71 · Written before 407.

proposed

Then since He had answered, He asks also in turn, "What think ye of Christ, whose Son is He? They say unto Him, The Son of David." See after how many miracles, after how many signs, after how many questions, after how great a display of His unanimity with the Father, as well in words, as in deeds; after having praised this man that said, that there is one God, He asks the question, that they may not be able to say, that He did miracles indeed, yet was an adversary to the law, and a foe to God. Therefore, after so many things, He asks these questions, secretly leading them on to confess Him also to be God. And the disciples He asked first what the others say, and then themselves; but these not so; for surely they would have said a deceiver, and a wicked one, as speaking all things without fear. So for this cause He inquires for the opinion of these men themselves. For since He was now about to go on to His passion, He sets forth the prophecy that plainly proclaims Him to be Lord; and not as having come to do this without occasion, nor as having made this His aim, but from a reasonable cause. For having asked them first, since they answered not the truth concerning Him (for they said He was a mere man), to overthrow their mistaken opinion, He thus introduces David proclaiming His Godhead. […]
9 more voices on this verse

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Matthew · Written before 420.

proposed

(verses 41 onwards) But when the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus questioned them, saying, 'What do you think about the Christ, whose son is he?' They said to him, 'David.' He said to them, 'How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool?" If David then calls him Lord, how is he his son?' Those who had gathered together to test Jesus and tried to capture the truth through deceitful questioning, gave an opportunity for their own refutation.

A commentator

Origen of Alexandria

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 253.

proposed

For God puts Christ's enemies as a footstool beneath His feet, for their salvation as well as their destruction.

The Medieval Church3 voices

A commentator

Glossa Ordinaria

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 1274.

proposed

(ap. Anselm.) That it is by the Father that the enemies are put under the Son, denotes not the Son's weakness, but the union of His nature with His Father. For the Son also puts under Him the Father's enemies, when He glorifies His name upon earth.

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on Matthew · Written before 1274.

proposed

But we can see three things in this authority from the Psalm. First, pre-eminence over the saints; equality with the Father; and dominion over the rebellious. Pre-eminence over the saints, when it says, the Lord said to my Lord. The Lord, namely, the Father, to …

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on Matthew · Written before 1107.

proposed

Since they thought He was a mere man, He overturns their belief and by means of the prophecy of David (Ps. 109:1) teaches the truth, that He is also the Lord, proclaiming His own divinity. For when the Pharisees said that the Christ was the …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

proposed

The Lord said to my Lord - This his dominion, to which David himself was subject, shows both the heavenly majesty of the king, and the nature of his kingdom. Sit thou on my right hand - That is, remain in the highest authority and power.
The Lord said unto my Lord,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

The Lord (יהוה Yeve or Jehovah) said unto my Lord, אדניע Adni or Adonai, my prop, stay, master, support), Sit thou on my right hand - Take the place of the greatest eminence and authority. Till I make thine enemies thy footstool - till I subdue both Jews and Gentiles under thee, and cause them to acknowledge thee as their sovereign and Lord. This quotation is taken from Psa 110:1; and, from it, these two points are clear: 1. That David wrote it by the inspiration of God; and 2. That it is a prophetic declaration of the Messiah.

How the passage was read

On Matthew 22:23-46

On Matthew 22:23-46

The Sadducees' riddle, the greatest commandment, and David's son

The Sadducees, the priestly party that denied the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:8), build their riddle on levirate marriage: the Torah's command that a man marry his brother's childless widow (Deuteronomy 25:5-10, the law behind Ruth; the Mishnah's tractate Yevamot regulates its cases). Seven brothers, one widow: “in the resurrection whose wife shall she be?” Jesus answers them from the Torah alone, the canon they granted: “I AM the God of Abraham” (Exodus 3:6), the living God of living men. Note where the parties stand: the Pharisees affirmed the resurrection so strongly that the Mishnah excludes from the world to come anyone who says the resurrection is not from the Torah (Sanhedrin 10:1). On this doctrine the Pharisaic tradition and Christian confession stand together against the Sadducees.

The lawyer's question that follows, “which is the great commandment?”, belongs to a genuine rabbinic genre: the search for a kelal gadol, a great governing principle. Hillel, asked to teach the whole Torah while a challenger stood on one foot, answered “what is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow; that is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary; go and learn” (Shabbat 31a); Rabbi Akiva later called “love your neighbor as yourself” the all-embracing principle of the Torah (Sifra on Leviticus 19:18). Jesus' first answer IS the Shema, the confession every observant Jew prays morning and evening (Deuteronomy 6:4-5), joined to Leviticus 19:18. The materials are the tradition's own; what is His alone is the authority with which He joins and ranks them, and the counter-question He then asks from Psalm 110: whose son is the Messiah?

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Sources: Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1 (the resurrection as core doctrine) · Shabbat 31a (Babylonian Talmud, Hillel on one foot) · Sifra, Kedoshim 4:12 (Akiva's great principle) · Mishnah Yevamot 1:1 (the levirate tractate)

The words behind it

19 Greek words

Every 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.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Psalms 110:1

    The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

    it leads to

    • Hebrews 10:12–13

      But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.

      Reached by 3 separate paths from here.

    • Hebrews 1:13

      Yet to which of the angels did God ever say: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet”?

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Corinthians 15:25

      For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.

    • Luke 20:42–43

      For David himself says in the book of Psalms: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand

    • Mark 12:35–37

      While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, He asked, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?

  • Through

    Hebrews 1:3

    The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the…

    it leads to

    • Colossians 1:15–17

      The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

    • Revelation 4:11

      “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and came to be.”

  • Through

    Hebrews 1:13

    Yet to which of the angels did God ever say: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet”?

    it leads to

    • Psalms 110:1

      The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

Where this verse is studied

About Matthew

The Sermon on the Mount, Carl Bloch, 1877. Public domain.
The Sermon on the Mount, Carl Bloch, 1877. Public domain.
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Glossa Ordinaria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 71; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Remigius of Rheims, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Tertullian, Against Marcion Book V; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.