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Selected Verse: Acts 2:27 - King James

Verse	Translation	Text
Ac 2:27	King James	Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
wilt not leave my soul in hell--in its disembodied state (see on Luk 16:23). neither . . . suffer thine Holy One to see corruption--in the grave.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

wilt not leave my soul in hell--in its disembodied state (see on Luk 16:23).

neither . . . suffer thine Holy One to see corruption--in the grave.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
Thou wilt not leave my soul - The word "soul," with us, means "the thinking, the immortal part of man," and is applied to it whether existing in connection with the body or separate from it. The Hebrew word translated "soul" here, נפשׁ nephesh, however, may mean "spirit, mind, life," and may denote here nothing more than "me" or "myself." It means, properly, "breath"; then "life," or "the vital principle, a living being"; then "the soul, the spirit, the thinking part." Instances where it is put for the individual himself, meaning "me" or "myself" may be seen in Psa 11:1; Psa 35:3, Psa 35:7; Job 9:21. There is no clear instance in which it is applied to the soul in its separate state, or disjoined from the body. In this place it must be explained in part by the meaning of the word hell. If that means grave, then this word probably means "me"; thou wilt not leave me in the grave. The meaning probably is, "Thou wilt not leave me in Sheol, neither," etc. The word "leave" here means, "Thou wilt not resign me to, or wilt not give me over to it, to be held under its power." In hell - - εἰς ᾅδου eis Hadou. The word "hell," in English, now commonly denotes "the place of the future eternal punishment of the wicked." This sense it has acquired by long usage. It is a Saxon word, derived from helan, "to cover," and denotes literally "a covered or deep place" (Webster); then "the dark and dismal abode of departed spirits"; and then "the place of torment." As the word is used now by us, it by no means expresses the force of the original; and if with this idea we read a passage like the one before us, it would convey an erroneous meaning altogether, although formerly the English word perhaps expressed no more than the original. The Greek word "Hades" means literally "a place devoid of light; a dark, obscure abode"; and in Greek writers was applied to the dark and obscure regions where disembodied spirits were supposed to dwell. It occurs only eleven times in the New Testament. In this place it is the translation of the Hebrew שׁאול Sheowl. In Rev 20:13-14, it is connected with death: "And death and hell (Hades) delivered up the dead which were in them"; "And death and hell (Hades) were cast into the lake of fire." See also Rev 6:8; Rev 1:18, "I have the keys of hell and death." In Co1 15:55 it means the grave: "O grave (Hades), where is thy victory?" In Mat 11:23 it means a deep, profound place, opposed to an exalted one; a condition of calamity and degradation, opposed to former great prosperity: "Thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell" (Hades). In Luk 16:23 it is applied to the place where the rich man was after death, in a state of punishment: "In hell (Hades) he lifted up his eyes, being in torments." In this place it is connected with the idea of suffering, and undoubtedly denotes a place of punishment. The Septuagint has used this word commonly to translate the word שׁאול Shèowl. Once it is used as a translation of the phrase "the stones of the pit" Isa 14:19; twice to express silence, particularly the silence of the grave Psa 94:17; Psa 115:17; once to express the Hebrew for "the shadow of death" Job 38:17; and sixty times to translate the word Sheol. It is remarkable that it is never used in the Old Testament to denote the word קבר qeber, which properly denotes "a grave or sepulchre." The idea which was conveyed by the word Sheol, or Hades, was not properly a grave or sepulchre, but that dark, unknown state, including the grave, which constituted the dominions of the dead. What idea the Hebrews had of the future world it is now difficult to explain, and is not necessary in the case before us. The word originally denoting simply "the state of the dead, the insatiable demands of the grave," came at last to be extended in its meaning, in proportion as they received new revelations or formed new opinions about the future world. Perhaps the following may be the process of thought by which the word came to have the special meanings which it is found to have in the Old Testament: (1) The word "death" and the grave קבר qeber would express the abode of a deceased body in the earth. (2) man has a soul, a thinking principle, and the inquiry must arise, What will be its state? Will it die also? The Hebrews never appear to have believed that. Will it ascend to heaven at once? On that subject they had at first no knowledge. Will it go at once to a place of happiness or of torment? Of that, also, they had no information at first Yet they supposed it would live; and the word שׁאול Sheowl expressed just this state - the dark, unknown regions of the dead; the abode of spirits, whether good or bad; the residence of departed people, whether fixed in a permanent habitation, or whether wandering about. As they were ignorant of the size and spherical structure of the earth, they seem to have supposed this region to be situated in the earth, far below us, and hence, it is put in opposition to heaven, Psa 139:8, "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell (Sheol), behold, thou art there"; Amo 9:2. The most common use of the word is, therefore, to express those dark regions, the lower world, the region of ghosts, etc. Instances of this, almost without number, might be given. See a most striking and sublime instance of this in Isa 14:9; "Hell from beneath is moved to meet thee," etc.; where the assembled dead are represented as being agitated in all their vast regions at the death of the King of Babylon. (3) the inquiry could not but arise whether all these beings were happy. This point revelation decided; and it was decided in the O d Testament. Yet this word would better express the state of the wicked dead than the righteous. It conveyed the idea of darkness, gloom, wandering; the idea of a sad and unfixed abode, unlike heaven. Hence, the word sometimes expresses the idea of a place of punishment: Psa 9:17, "The wicked shall be turned into hell," etc.; Pro 15:11; Pro 23:14; Pro 27:20; Job 26:6. While, therefore, the word does not mean properly a grave or a sepulchre, it does mean often "the state of the dead," without designating whether in happiness or woe, but implying the continued existence of the soul. In this sense it is often used in the Old Testament, where the Hebrew word is Sheol, and the Greek Hades: Gen 37:35, "I will go down into the grave, unto my son, mourning" I will go down to the dead, to death, to my son, still there existing; Gen 42:38; Gen 44:29, "He shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave; Num 16:30, Num 16:33; Kg1 2:6, Kg1 2:9; etc. etc. in the place before us, therefore, the meaning is simply, thou wilt not leave me among the dead. This conveys all the idea. It does not mean literally the grave or the sepulchre; that relates only to the body. This expression refers to the deceased Messiah. Thou wilt not leave him among the dead; thou wilt raise him up. It is from this passage, perhaps, aided by two others (Rom 10:7, and Pe1 3:19), that the doctrine originated that Christ "descended," as it is expressed in the Creed, "into hell"; and many have invented strange opinions about his going among lost spirits. The doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church has been that he went to purgatory, to deliver the spirits confined there. But if the interpretation now given be correct, then it will follow: (1) That nothing is affirmed here about the destination of the human soul of Christ after his death. That he went to the region of the dead is implied, but nothing further. (2) It may be remarked that the Scriptures affirm nothing about the state of his soul in that time which intervened between his death and resurrection. The only intimation which occurs on the subject is such as to leave us to suppose that he was in a state of happiness. To the dying thief he said, "This day shalt thou be with me in paradise." When Jesus died, he said, "It is finished"; and he doubtless meant by that that his sufferings and toils for man's redemption were at an end. All suppositions of any toils or pains after his death are fables, and without the slightest warrant in the New Testament. Thine Holy One - The word in the Hebrew which is translated here "Holy One" properly denotes "One who is tenderly and piously devoted to another," and corresponds to the expression used in the New Testament, "my beloved Son." It is also used, as it is here by the Septuagint and by Peter, to denote "One that is holy, that is set apart to God." In this sense it is applied to Christ, either as being set apart to this office, or as so pure as to make it proper to designate him by way of eminence the Holy One, or the Holy One of God. It is several times used as the wellknown designation of the Messiah: Mar 1:24, "I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God"; Luk 4:34; Act 3:14, "But ye denied the Holy One, and the just," etc. See also Luk 1:35, "That holy thing that is born of thee shall be called the Son of God." To see corruption - To see corruption is to experience it, to be made partakers of it. The Hebrews often expressed the idea of experiencing anything by the use of words pertaining to the senses, as, to taste of death, to see death, etc. Corruption here means putrefaction in the grave. The word which is used in the Psalm, שׁחת shachath, is thus used in Job 17:14, "I have said to corruption, thou art my father," etc. The Greek word used here properly denotes this. Thus, it is used in Act 13:34-37. This meaning would be properly suggested by the Hebrew word, and thus the ancient versions understood it. The meaning implied in the expression is, that he of whom the Psalm was written should be restored to life again; and this meaning Peter proceeds to show that the words must have.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

Thou wilt not leave my soul - The word "soul," with us, means "the thinking, the immortal part of man," and is applied to it whether existing in connection with the body or separate from it. The Hebrew word translated "soul" here, נפשׁ nephesh, however, may mean "spirit, mind, life," and may denote here nothing more than "me" or "myself." It means, properly, "breath"; then "life," or "the vital principle, a living being"; then "the soul, the spirit, the thinking part." Instances where it is put for the individual himself, meaning "me" or "myself" may be seen in Psa 11:1; Psa 35:3, Psa 35:7; Job 9:21. There is no clear instance in which it is applied to the soul in its separate state, or disjoined from the body. In this place it must be explained in part by the meaning of the word hell. If that means grave, then this word probably means "me"; thou wilt not leave me in the grave. The meaning probably is, "Thou wilt not leave me in Sheol, neither," etc. The word "leave" here means, "Thou wilt not resign me to, or wilt not give me over to it, to be held under its power."

In hell - - εἰς ᾅδου eis Hadou. The word "hell," in English, now commonly denotes "the place of the future eternal punishment of the wicked." This sense it has acquired by long usage. It is a Saxon word, derived from helan, "to cover," and denotes literally "a covered or deep place" (Webster); then "the dark and dismal abode of departed spirits"; and then "the place of torment." As the word is used now by us, it by no means expresses the force of the original; and if with this idea we read a passage like the one before us, it would convey an erroneous meaning altogether, although formerly the English word perhaps expressed no more than the original. The Greek word "Hades" means literally "a place devoid of light; a dark, obscure abode"; and in Greek writers was applied to the dark and obscure regions where disembodied spirits were supposed to dwell. It occurs only eleven times in the New Testament. In this place it is the translation of the Hebrew שׁאול Sheowl.

In Rev 20:13-14, it is connected with death: "And death and hell (Hades) delivered up the dead which were in them"; "And death and hell (Hades) were cast into the lake of fire." See also Rev 6:8; Rev 1:18, "I have the keys of hell and death." In Co1 15:55 it means the grave: "O grave (Hades), where is thy victory?" In Mat 11:23 it means a deep, profound place, opposed to an exalted one; a condition of calamity and degradation, opposed to former great prosperity: "Thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell" (Hades). In Luk 16:23 it is applied to the place where the rich man was after death, in a state of punishment: "In hell (Hades) he lifted up his eyes, being in torments." In this place it is connected with the idea of suffering, and undoubtedly denotes a place of punishment. The Septuagint has used this word commonly to translate the word שׁאול Shèowl.

Once it is used as a translation of the phrase "the stones of the pit" Isa 14:19; twice to express silence, particularly the silence of the grave Psa 94:17; Psa 115:17; once to express the Hebrew for "the shadow of death" Job 38:17; and sixty times to translate the word Sheol. It is remarkable that it is never used in the Old Testament to denote the word קבר qeber, which properly denotes "a grave or sepulchre." The idea which was conveyed by the word Sheol, or Hades, was not properly a grave or sepulchre, but that dark, unknown state, including the grave, which constituted the dominions of the dead. What idea the Hebrews had of the future world it is now difficult to explain, and is not necessary in the case before us. The word originally denoting simply "the state of the dead, the insatiable demands of the grave," came at last to be extended in its meaning, in proportion as they received new revelations or formed new opinions about the future world. Perhaps the following may be the process of thought by which the word came to have the special meanings which it is found to have in the Old Testament:

(1) The word "death" and the grave קבר qeber would express the abode of a deceased body in the earth.

(2) man has a soul, a thinking principle, and the inquiry must arise, What will be its state? Will it die also? The Hebrews never appear to have believed that. Will it ascend to heaven at once? On that subject they had at first no knowledge. Will it go at once to a place of happiness or of torment? Of that, also, they had no information at first Yet they supposed it would live; and the word שׁאול Sheowl expressed just this state - the dark, unknown regions of the dead; the abode of spirits, whether good or bad; the residence of departed people, whether fixed in a permanent habitation, or whether wandering about. As they were ignorant of the size and spherical structure of the earth, they seem to have supposed this region to be situated in the earth, far below us, and hence, it is put in opposition to heaven, Psa 139:8, "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell (Sheol), behold, thou art there"; Amo 9:2. The most common use of the word is, therefore, to express those dark regions, the lower world, the region of ghosts, etc. Instances of this, almost without number, might be given. See a most striking and sublime instance of this in Isa 14:9; "Hell from beneath is moved to meet thee," etc.; where the assembled dead are represented as being agitated in all their vast regions at the death of the King of Babylon.

(3) the inquiry could not but arise whether all these beings were happy. This point revelation decided; and it was decided in the O d Testament. Yet this word would better express the state of the wicked dead than the righteous. It conveyed the idea of darkness, gloom, wandering; the idea of a sad and unfixed abode, unlike heaven. Hence, the word sometimes expresses the idea of a place of punishment: Psa 9:17, "The wicked shall be turned into hell," etc.; Pro 15:11; Pro 23:14; Pro 27:20; Job 26:6. While, therefore, the word does not mean properly a grave or a sepulchre, it does mean often "the state of the dead," without designating whether in happiness or woe, but implying the continued existence of the soul. In this sense it is often used in the Old Testament, where the Hebrew word is Sheol, and the Greek Hades: Gen 37:35, "I will go down into the grave, unto my son, mourning" I will go down to the dead, to death, to my son, still there existing; Gen 42:38; Gen 44:29, "He shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave; Num 16:30, Num 16:33; Kg1 2:6, Kg1 2:9; etc. etc. in the place before us, therefore, the meaning is simply, thou wilt not leave me among the dead. This conveys all the idea. It does not mean literally the grave or the sepulchre; that relates only to the body. This expression refers to the deceased Messiah. Thou wilt not leave him among the dead; thou wilt raise him up. It is from this passage, perhaps, aided by two others (Rom 10:7, and Pe1 3:19), that the doctrine originated that Christ "descended," as it is expressed in the Creed, "into hell"; and many have invented strange opinions about his going among lost spirits. The doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church has been that he went to purgatory, to deliver the spirits confined there. But if the interpretation now given be correct, then it will follow:

(1) That nothing is affirmed here about the destination of the human soul of Christ after his death. That he went to the region of the dead is implied, but nothing further.

(2) It may be remarked that the Scriptures affirm nothing about the state of his soul in that time which intervened between his death and resurrection. The only intimation which occurs on the subject is such as to leave us to suppose that he was in a state of happiness. To the dying thief he said, "This day shalt thou be with me in paradise." When Jesus died, he said, "It is finished"; and he doubtless meant by that that his sufferings and toils for man's redemption were at an end. All suppositions of any toils or pains after his death are fables, and without the slightest warrant in the New Testament.

Thine Holy One - The word in the Hebrew which is translated here "Holy One" properly denotes "One who is tenderly and piously devoted to another," and corresponds to the expression used in the New Testament, "my beloved Son." It is also used, as it is here by the Septuagint and by Peter, to denote "One that is holy, that is set apart to God." In this sense it is applied to Christ, either as being set apart to this office, or as so pure as to make it proper to designate him by way of eminence the Holy One, or the Holy One of God. It is several times used as the wellknown designation of the Messiah: Mar 1:24, "I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God"; Luk 4:34; Act 3:14, "But ye denied the Holy One, and the just," etc. See also Luk 1:35, "That holy thing that is born of thee shall be called the Son of God."

To see corruption - To see corruption is to experience it, to be made partakers of it. The Hebrews often expressed the idea of experiencing anything by the use of words pertaining to the senses, as, to taste of death, to see death, etc. Corruption here means putrefaction in the grave. The word which is used in the Psalm, שׁחת shachath, is thus used in Job 17:14, "I have said to corruption, thou art my father," etc. The Greek word used here properly denotes this. Thus, it is used in Act 13:34-37. This meaning would be properly suggested by the Hebrew word, and thus the ancient versions understood it. The meaning implied in the expression is, that he of whom the Psalm was written should be restored to life again; and this meaning Peter proceeds to show that the words must have.

The Scofield Bible Commentary, by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, [1917]
hell Hades. (See Scofield) - (Luk 16:23).

Vincent's Word Studies, by Marvin R. Vincent [1886]
Leave (ἐγκαταλείψεις) Lit., leave behind. Suffer (δώσεις) Lit., give.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Thou wilt not leave my soul in hades - The invisible world. But it does not appear, that ever our Lord went into hell. His soul, when it was separated from the body, did not go thither, but to paradise, Luk 23:43. The meaning is, Thou wilt not leave my soul in its separate state, nor suffer my body to be corrupted.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell - Εις Ἁιδου, in hades, that is, the state of separate spirits, or the state of the dead. Hades was a general term among the Greek writers, by which they expressed this state; and this Hades was Tartarus to the wicked, and Elysium to the good. See the explanation of the word in the note on Mat 11:23 (note). To see corruption - Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return, was a sentence pronounced on man after the fall: therefore this sentence could be executed on none but those who were fallen; but Jesus, being conceived without sin, neither partook of human corruption, nor was involved in the condemnation of fallen human nature; consequently, it was impossible for his body to see corruption; and it could not have undergone the temporary death, to which it was not naturally liable, had it not been for the purpose of making an atonement. It was therefore impossible that the human nature of our Lord could be subject to corruption: for though it was possible that the soul and it might be separated for a time, yet, as it had not sinned, it was not liable to dissolution; and its immortality was the necessary consequence of its being pure from transgression.

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²³ And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

³⁴ And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
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.

¹⁴ I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.

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.

¹⁹ By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

⁷ Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

⁹ Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.

⁶ Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.

³³ They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

³⁰ But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.

²⁹ And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

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.

³⁵ And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

⁶ Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.

²⁰ Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

¹⁴ Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

¹¹ Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?

¹⁷ The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

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.

² Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:

⁸ If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

¹⁷ Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

¹⁷ The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.

¹⁷ Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.

¹⁹ But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

²³ And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

²³ And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

⁵⁵ O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

¹⁸ I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

⁸ And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

¹³ And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
¹⁴ And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

²¹ Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.

⁷ For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.

³ Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.

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?

²³ And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

⁴³ And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.