The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

The English translation obscures the distinction between the two Lords that is present in the Hebrew text. “Yahweh said to my lord (Adoni).” The Greek New Testament translates both “Yahweh” and “Adoni” as “kurios,” producing the rendering, “The Lord said to my Lord” in English. “Yahweh” is God’s personal name, whereas “Adoni” is a title used for a human lord, master, or king and sometimes for angels In the Old Testament. “Adoni” occurs approximately 195 times in the Old Testament and is never used in reference to God.

One of the main points of Psalm 110:1 is that God is one person. “My” is a first person singular suffix, and ” I make” is a first person singular verb referring to the speaker Yahweh (The LORD who was speaking to David’s Lord who is also David’s descendent).

Please don’t take my word for it. You can do like the Bureans in Acts 17 and examine the scriptures, to see if these things are so. Many scholars identify Psalm 110:1 as the most quoted or alluded-to Old Testament verse in the New Testament. In Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:35 and Luke 20:42-43 Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1.

“Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”‘? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.” Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭41‬-‭46‬

Jesus asked the Pharisees, whose son is the Messiah. When they responded “The son of David.” Jesus quoted Psalm 110:1 and asked “if then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” No one had an answer. Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost answers the question that stumped the Pharisees. You can read all about it in Acts 2:22-36 after they had received the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4-5, 2:4) the gift of the holy spirit (Acts 2:38).

“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”‘ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭29‬-‭36‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Acts 2:33 identifies the Father alone as God (LORD in Joel 2 quoted in Acts 2:17-21). Also, from this passage, we can know for certain that the Father made Jesus “both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36)

Other passages alluding to Psalm 110:1 in the New Testament include Matthew 26:64, Mark 14:62, Luke 22:69, 1 Corinthians 15:25-28, Hebrews 1:13, Hebrews 10:12-13, Romans 8:34, Ephesians 1:20-22, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 8:1, Hebrews 12:2, and 1 Peter 3:22.

Mark Rohde can be reached at marklrohde@icloud.com.