Acts 13:37

Study note

Setting — The speaker addresses a Jewish audience in Antioch, placing this declaration directly after noting David’s burial and decay. The statement functions as the structural pivot between the old patriarch’s mortality and the forthcoming proclamation of forgiveness.

The words — ἤγειρεν (ēgeiren) translates “raised up,” and διαφθορὴν (diaphthorēn) translates “decay.” The Greek construction places οὐκ (ouk) before εἶδεν (eiden) to form a direct, unqualified negation of corruption.

The thread — The resurrection claim links to Acts 13:30 and Acts 2:24, which both record God raising the same figure. The contrast with decay is anchored in Acts 13:36, where David’s body is explicitly stated to have seen corruption.

Why it lands — The text states that the resurrected One’s body did not undergo decay. It requires a reader to separate David’s mortal end from the Messiah’s permanent vindication and to accept the forgiveness announced in the immediate context.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.