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Selected Verse: Psalms 16:10 - King James
Verse |
Translation |
Text |
Ps 16:10 |
King James |
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
soul--or, "self." This use of "soul" for the person is frequent (Gen 12:5; Gen 46:26; Psa 3:2; Psa 7:2; Psa 11:1), even when the body may be the part chiefly affected, as in Psa 35:13; Psa 105:18. Some cases are cited, as Lev 22:4; Num 6:6; Num 9:6, Num 9:10; Num 19:13; Hag 2:13, &c., which seem to justify assigning the meaning of body, or dead body; but it will be found that the latter sense is given by some adjunct expressed or implied. In those cases person is the proper sense.
wilt not leave . . . hell--abandon to the power of (Job 39:14; Psa 49:10). Hell as (Gen 42:38; Psa 6:5; Jon 2:2) the state or region of death, and so frequently--or the grave itself (Job 14:13; Job 17:13; Ecc 9:10, &c.). So the Greek Hades (compare Act 2:27, Act 2:31). The context alone can settle whether the state mentioned is one of suffering and place of the damned (compare Psa 9:17; Pro 5:5; Pro 7:27).
wilt . . . suffer--literally, "give" or "appoint."
Holy One-- (Psa 4:3), one who is the object of God's favor, and so a recipient of divine grace which he exhibits--pious.
to see--or, "experience"--undergo (Luk 2:26).
corruption--Some render the word, the pit, which is possible, but for the obvious sense which the apostle's exposition (Act 2:27; Act 13:36-37) gives. The sense of the whole passage is clearly this: by the use of flesh and soul, the disembodied state produced by death is indicated; but, on the other hand, no more than the state of death is intended; for the last clause of Psa 16:10 is strictly parallel with the first, and Holy One corresponds to soul, and corruption to hell. As Holy One, or David (Act 13:36-37), which denotes the person, including soul and body, is used for body, of which only corruption can be predicated (compare Act 2:31); so, on the contrary, soul, which literally means the immaterial part, is used for the person. The language may be thus paraphrased, "In death I shall hope for resurrection; for I shall not be left under its dominion and within its bounds, or be subject to the corruption which ordinarily ensues." |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
For thou will not leave - The language used here implies, of course, that what is here called the soul would be in the abode to which the name hell is given, but "how long" it would be there is not intimated. The thought simply is, that it would not be "left" there; it would not be suffered to "remain" there. Whether it would be restored to life again in a few days, or after a longer period, is not implied in the term used. It would be fulfilled, though, as in the case of the Lord Jesus, the resurrection should occur in three days; or though, as in the case of David, it would occur only after many ages; or though, as Abraham believed of Isaac if he was offered as a sacrifice Heb 11:19, he should be restored to life at once. In other words, there is no allusion in this language to time. It is only to the "fact" that there would be a restoration to life.
My soul - DeWette renders this, "my life." The Hebrew word - נפשׁ nephesh - which occurs very frequently in the Scriptures, means properly "breath;" then, the vital spirit, life; then, the rational soul, the mind; then, an animal, or animated thing - that which "lives;" then, oneself. Which of these senses is the true one here must be determined from the connection, and the meaning could probably be determined by a man's asking himself what he would think of if he used similar language of himself - "I am about to die; my flesh will go down to the grave, and will rest in hope - the hope of a resurrection; my breath - my soul - will depart, and I shall be dead; but that life, that soul, will not be extinct: it will not be "left" in the grave, the abode of the dead; it will live again, live on forever." It seems to me, therefore, that the language here would embrace the immortal part - that which is distinct from the body; and that the word here employed may be properly understood of the soul as we understand that word. The psalmist probably understood by it that part of his nature which was not mortal or decaying; that which properly constituted his life.
In hell - - לשׁאול lishe'ôl, "to Sheol." See Psa 6:5, note; Isa 5:14, note. This word does not necessarily mean hell in the sense in which that term is now commonly employed, as denoting the abode of the wicked in the future world, or the place of punishment; but it means the region or abode of the dead, to which the grave was regarded as the door or entrance - the under-world. The idea is, that the soul would not be suffered to remain in that under-world - that dull, gloomy abode (compare the notes at Job 10:21-22), but would rise again to light and life. This language, however, gives no sanction to the words used in the creed, "he descended into hell," nor to the opinion that Christ went down personally to "preach to the spirits in prison " - the souls that are lost (compare the notes at Pe1 3:19); but it is language derived from the prevailing opinion that the soul, through the grave, descended to the under-world - to the abodes where the dead were supposed still to reside. See the notes at Isa 14:9. As a matter of fact, the soul of the Saviour at his death entered into "paradise." See the notes at Luk 23:43.
Neither wilt thou suffer - literally, "thou wilt not give;" that is, he would not give him over to corruption, or would not suffer him to return to corruption.
Thine Holy One - See the notes at Act 2:27. The reading here in the text is in the plural form, "thy holy ones;" the marginal reading in the Hebrew, or the Qeri', is in the singular, "thine Holy One." The singular form is followed by the Aramaic Paraphrase, the Latin Vulgate, the Septuagint, the Arabic, and in the New Testament, Act 2:27. The Masoretes have also pointed the text as if it were in the singular. Many manuscripts and earlier editions of the Bible, and all the ancient versions, read it in the same manner. It is probable, therefore, that this is the true reading. The Hebrew word rendered holy one - חסיד châsı̂yd - means properly kind, benevolent, liberal, good, merciful, gracious, pious. Gesenius, Lexicon. It would be applicable to any persons who are pious or religious, but it is here restricted to the one whom the psalmist had in his eye - if the psalm referred to himself, then to himself; if to the Messiah, then to him. The term is several times given to the Saviour as being especially adapted to him. See Mar 1:24; Luk 4:34; Act 3:14; compare Luk 1:35. It is applied to him as being eminently holy, or as being one whom God regarded as especially his own. As the passage here is expressly applied to him in the Acts of the Apostles Act 2:27, there can be no doubt that it was intended by the Spirit of inspiration to designate him in this place, whatever reference it may have had primarily to David himself.
To see - That is, to experience; to be acquainted with. The word is used often to denote perceiving, learning, or understanding anything by experience. Thus, "to see life," Ecc 9:9; "to see death," Psa 89:48; "to see sleep," Ecc 8:16; "to see famine," Jer 5:12; "to see good," Psa 34:12; "to see affliction," Lam 3:1; "to see evil," Pro 27:12. Here it means that he would not "experience" corruption; or would not return to corruption.
Corruption - - שׁחת shachath. This word is frequently used in the Scriptures. It is translated "ditch" in Job 9:31; Psa 7:15; "corruption" (as here), in Job 17:14; Psa 49:9; Jon 2:6; "pit," in Job 33:18, Job 33:24, Job 33:28, Job 33:30; Psa 9:15; Psa 30:9; Psa 35:7; Pro 26:27; Isa 38:17; Isa 51:14; Eze 19:4; Eze 28:8; "grave," in Job 33:22; and "destruction," in Psa 55:23. The common idea, therefore, according to our translators, is the grave, or a pit. The "derivation" seems not to be certain. Gesenius supposes that it is derived from שׁוח shûach - "to sink or settle down;" hence, a pit or the grave. Others derive it from שׁחת shāchath, not used in Qal, to destroy. The verb is used in various forms frequently; meaning to destroy, to ruin, to lay waste. It is translated here by the Latin Vulgate, "corruptionem;" by the Septuagint, διαφθοράν diaphthoran, corruption; by the Arabic in the same way.
The same word which is employed by the Septuagint is employed also in quoting the passage in the New Testament, where the argument of Peter Act 2:27, and of Paul Act 13:35-37, is founded on the supposition that such is the sense of the word here; that it does not mean merely "the pit, or the grave;" that the idea in the psalm is not that the person referred to would not go down to the grave, or would not "die," but that he would not moulder back to dust in the grave, or that the "change" would not occur to him in the grave which does to those who lie long in the tomb. Peter and Paul both regard this as a distinct prophecy that the Messiah would be raised from the grave "without" returning to corruption, and they argue from the fact that David "did" return to corruption in the grave like other men, that the passage could not have referred mainly to himself, but that it had a proper fulfillment, and its highest fulfillment, in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. This interpretation the believer in the inspiration of Peter and Paul is bound to defend, and in reference to this it may be remarked,
(1) that it cannot be demonstrated that this is not the meaning of the word. The word may be as "fairly" derived from the verb to corrupt, as from the verb to sink down, and, indeed, more naturally and more obviously. The grammatical form would rather suggest this derivation than the other.
(2) It "is" a fair construction of the original word. It is such a construction as may be put upon it without any "forced" application, or any design to defend a theory or an opinion. In other words, it is not a mere "catch," or a grasp at a "possible" meaning of the word, but it is a rendering which, on every principle of grammatical construction, may be regarded as a "fair" interpretation. Whatever may have been the exact idea in the mind of David, whether he understood this as referring only to himself, and to the belief that he would not "always" remain in the grave, and under the power of corruption; or whether he understood it as referring primarily to himself, and ultimately and mainly to the Messiah; or whether he understood it; as referring solely to the Messiah; or whether he did not at all understand the language which the Holy Spirit led him to employ (compare the notes at Pe1 1:11-12), it is equally true that the sense which the apostles put on the words, in their application of the passage to the Messiah, is a suitable one.
(3) The ancient versions, as has been seen above, confirm this. Without an exception they give the sense of "corruption" - the very sense which has been given to the word by Peter and Paul. The authors of these versions had no theory to defend, and it may be presumed that they had a just knowledge of the true meaning of the Hebrew word.
(4) It may be added that this interpretation accords with the connection in which the word occurs. Though it may be admitted that the connection would not "necessarily" lead to this view, yet this interpretation is in entire harmony with the statements in the previous verses, and in the following verse. Thus, in the previous verse, the psalmist had said that "his flesh would rest in hope," - a sentiment which accords with either the idea that he would at some future period be raised from the grave, and would not perish forever, though the period of the resurrection might be remote; or with the idea of being raised up so soon that the body would not return to corruption, that is, before the change consequent on death would take place. The sentiment in the following verse also agrees with this view. That sentiment is, that there is a path to life; that in the presence of God there is fulness of joy; that at his right hand there are pleasures forevermore - a sentiment, in this connection, founded on the belief of the resurrection from the dead, and equally true whether the dead should be raised immediately or at some remote period. I infer, therefore, that the apostles Peter and Paul made a legitimate use of this passage; that the argument which they urged was derived from a proper interpretation of the language; that the fair construction of the psalm, and the fact that David "had" returned to corruption, fully justified them in the application which they made of the passage; and that, therefore, it was the design of the Holy Spirit to convey the idea that "the Messiah" would be raised from the dead without undergoing the change which others undergo in the grave; and that it was thus "predicted" in the Old Testament, that be would be raised from the dead in the manner in which he was. |
The Scofield Bible Commentary, by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, [1917] |
hell
Hebrew, "Sheol,"
(See Scofield) - (Hab 2:5). |
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
Hell - In the state of the dead. Holy one - Me thy holy son, whom thou hast sanctified and sent into the world. It is peculiar to Christ, to be called the holy one of God. To see - To be corrupted or putrefied in the grave, as the bodies of others are. |
Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
Thine Holy One - This is in the plural number, חסידיך chasideycha, thy Holy Ones; but none of the versions translate it in the plural; and as it is in the singular number, חסידך chasidecha, in several ancient editions, among which is the Complutensian Polyglot, and no less than two hundred and sixty-four of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and in the quotation by St. Peter, in Act 2:27; Act 13:35, we may take it for granted that the present reading is a corruption; or that חסידיך is an emphatic singular.
As to leaving the soul In hell, it can only mean permitting the life of the Messiah to continue under the power of death; for שאול sheol signifies a pit, a ditch, the grave, or state of the dead. See the notes on the parallel places, Act 2:25 (note), etc.
See corruption - All human beings see corruption, because born in sin, and liable to the curse. The human body of Jesus Christ, as being without sin, saw no corruption. |
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
37 But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
37 But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.
27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
13 If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.
13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
10 For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
14 Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust,
13 Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.
13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD.
6 And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:
6 All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.
4 What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him;
18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:
13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
2 Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
2 Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.
26 All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six;
5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
35 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
37 But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
23 But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
22 Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers.
8 They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.
4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.
14 The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.
17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
27 Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.
7 For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.
9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
15 The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
30 To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.
28 He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.
24 Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.
18 He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.
6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.
9 That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.
14 I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.
15 He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
31 Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.
12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.
1 I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
12 They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
16 When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)
48 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.
9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
34 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.
24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
21 Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;
22 A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.
14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:
25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
35 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.