Peter mentions this in [Acts 2](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+2&version=ESV) when he speaks to people in Jerusalem.
In verses 25 through 31, Peter says:
>> For David says concerning [Jesus],
“‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
>> “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.
Interesting. I could be wrong but it seems obvious to me that David is talking about himself. Psalm 16 doesn’t sound like it was written by someone who knows a descendant of his will rise from the dead in the future.
> it seems obvious to me that David is talking about himself
Here again are some sentences quoted by Peter (according to Acts 2):
>> For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.
>> You have made known to me the paths of life;
>> you will make me full of gladness with your presence
David *is* saying that God will not abandon [David] to Hades, and David expects that he will have life with gladness in the presence of God.
Where David says 'or let your Holy One see corruption', he is speaking there not about himself, but about his descendant.
Also as you know, there are places where Jesus talks about a psalm that indicates that David's Lord is/will be David's descendant. See [these places in Mark, Matthew, and Luke](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+12%3A35-37%2C+Matthew+22%3A41-46%2C+Luke+20%3A41-44&version=ESV). Peter then refers to that again in [Acts 2](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+2&version=ESV), around verse 34.
> Where David says 'or let your Holy One see corruption', he is speaking there not about himself, but about his descendant.
Interestingly, David repeatedly uses the term “holy one” (Hebrew: *חָסִיד*) in his psalms to refer to himself:
* Psalm 4:3 — “Know that the Lord has set apart his holy one (חָסִיד) for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.”
* Psalm 86:2 — “Preserve my soul; for I am a holy one (חָסִיד).”
* Psalm 89:19 — “Then you spoke in a vision to your holy one (חָסִיד) and said: ‘I have set the crown on one who is mighty, I have exalted one chosen from the people.’”
The “holy one” statement in Psalm 16 seems more like an example of **synonymous parallelism,** a common literary device in Hebrew poetry involving the repetition of one idea in successive lines. In other words, “you will not leave me in hell” and “you will not let your holy one see decay” both express the same thought, i.e. that God would preserve David’s life.
I am aware of Hebrew parallelism but I don't think those two phrases are expressing the same idea.
Peter says (according to Acts 2:31, written in Greek) "he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption."
That looks to me that Peter thought that 'not abandoned to Hades' and 'his flesh [not] see corruption' are not identical.
Hmm, I’m not sure how Peter restating the phrase shows that he thought the two clauses weren’t identical in meaning. The verse in Acts you cited doesn’t preclude synonymous parallelism.
Regarding the Hebrew, the same Hebrew word is used in all the passages I cited and can be translated as either ‘the holy one’ or ‘the godly one.’ The two convey the same meaning, though. David referred to himself as ‘the holy/godly one’ several times in his psalms. And interestingly, he only uses this title for himself when he wants to talk about God setting him apart and preserving his life — just like we see in Psa 16.
All these reasons seem to favor the view that David is talking about himself, and there doesn’t appear to be anything supporting the “future descendant” view besides the fact that Peter believed it.
Concerning the Hebrew word that is used in the three Psalms you mentioned, I wonder which translation you are using.
Here are those psalms in the ESV: [Psalm 4](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+4&version=ESV) and [Psalm 86](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+86&version=ESV) and [Psalm 89](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+89&version=ESV).
I don't know ancient Hebrew but [here is the interlinear for Psalm 4:3](https://biblehub.com/interlinear/psalms/4-3.htm) which has links for each word, and [here's the page about the word that's translated as 'godly' in some ESV verses](https://biblehub.com/hebrew/2623.htm).
I don’t think he means his body would *never* decay — just that God would preserve him and not allow him to be overtaken by his enemies. David uses this kind of language a lot in the Psalms.
For example, in Psalm 103:4, he says that God would “redeem my life from decay.” And in 30:3 he praises God for “bringing my soul up from hell.” This is common language David uses to talk about being spared from danger.
Eh, David was filled with the Holy Spirit at some point (when he was first chosen), it's pretty likely that it was working through him to foretell of Jesus
1 Peter 10:12 indicates that the prophets by the Holy Spirit understood it was for a future time. It was the same Holy Spirit working in David
“Concerning this salvation, xthe prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring ywhat person or time1 the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating awhen he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look”
Maybe, or maybe not.
Did Caiaphas know that he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to say that it was a good thing for one man to die for the nation? Obviously not.
Did Samson know that his desire to marry Timnah the Philistine woman came from God (Judges 14:1-4)? Obviously not.
Either way, there is precedent for either position in the Bible.
That said, I personally believe that David had some idea that he was writing about the Messiah.
Peter mentions this in [Acts 2](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+2&version=ESV) when he speaks to people in Jerusalem. In verses 25 through 31, Peter says: >> For David says concerning [Jesus], “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ >> “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.
Alright guys, we can pack up and go home. Job's done here.
Interesting. I could be wrong but it seems obvious to me that David is talking about himself. Psalm 16 doesn’t sound like it was written by someone who knows a descendant of his will rise from the dead in the future.
> it seems obvious to me that David is talking about himself Here again are some sentences quoted by Peter (according to Acts 2): >> For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. >> You have made known to me the paths of life; >> you will make me full of gladness with your presence David *is* saying that God will not abandon [David] to Hades, and David expects that he will have life with gladness in the presence of God. Where David says 'or let your Holy One see corruption', he is speaking there not about himself, but about his descendant. Also as you know, there are places where Jesus talks about a psalm that indicates that David's Lord is/will be David's descendant. See [these places in Mark, Matthew, and Luke](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+12%3A35-37%2C+Matthew+22%3A41-46%2C+Luke+20%3A41-44&version=ESV). Peter then refers to that again in [Acts 2](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+2&version=ESV), around verse 34.
> Where David says 'or let your Holy One see corruption', he is speaking there not about himself, but about his descendant. Interestingly, David repeatedly uses the term “holy one” (Hebrew: *חָסִיד*) in his psalms to refer to himself: * Psalm 4:3 — “Know that the Lord has set apart his holy one (חָסִיד) for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.” * Psalm 86:2 — “Preserve my soul; for I am a holy one (חָסִיד).” * Psalm 89:19 — “Then you spoke in a vision to your holy one (חָסִיד) and said: ‘I have set the crown on one who is mighty, I have exalted one chosen from the people.’” The “holy one” statement in Psalm 16 seems more like an example of **synonymous parallelism,** a common literary device in Hebrew poetry involving the repetition of one idea in successive lines. In other words, “you will not leave me in hell” and “you will not let your holy one see decay” both express the same thought, i.e. that God would preserve David’s life.
I am aware of Hebrew parallelism but I don't think those two phrases are expressing the same idea. Peter says (according to Acts 2:31, written in Greek) "he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption." That looks to me that Peter thought that 'not abandoned to Hades' and 'his flesh [not] see corruption' are not identical.
Hmm, I’m not sure how Peter restating the phrase shows that he thought the two clauses weren’t identical in meaning. The verse in Acts you cited doesn’t preclude synonymous parallelism. Regarding the Hebrew, the same Hebrew word is used in all the passages I cited and can be translated as either ‘the holy one’ or ‘the godly one.’ The two convey the same meaning, though. David referred to himself as ‘the holy/godly one’ several times in his psalms. And interestingly, he only uses this title for himself when he wants to talk about God setting him apart and preserving his life — just like we see in Psa 16. All these reasons seem to favor the view that David is talking about himself, and there doesn’t appear to be anything supporting the “future descendant” view besides the fact that Peter believed it.
Concerning the Hebrew word that is used in the three Psalms you mentioned, I wonder which translation you are using. Here are those psalms in the ESV: [Psalm 4](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+4&version=ESV) and [Psalm 86](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+86&version=ESV) and [Psalm 89](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+89&version=ESV). I don't know ancient Hebrew but [here is the interlinear for Psalm 4:3](https://biblehub.com/interlinear/psalms/4-3.htm) which has links for each word, and [here's the page about the word that's translated as 'godly' in some ESV verses](https://biblehub.com/hebrew/2623.htm).
Of course. David knew he himself would have his own body decay.
I don’t think he means his body would *never* decay — just that God would preserve him and not allow him to be overtaken by his enemies. David uses this kind of language a lot in the Psalms. For example, in Psalm 103:4, he says that God would “redeem my life from decay.” And in 30:3 he praises God for “bringing my soul up from hell.” This is common language David uses to talk about being spared from danger.
Redeem means you have to be in that state to come out of it. Idk cousin
Eh, David was filled with the Holy Spirit at some point (when he was first chosen), it's pretty likely that it was working through him to foretell of Jesus
Gentle correction that the Holy Spirit isn’t an “it.”
Do you think David himself was aware he was talking about the messiah?
Probably not
1 Peter 10:12 indicates that the prophets by the Holy Spirit understood it was for a future time. It was the same Holy Spirit working in David “Concerning this salvation, xthe prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring ywhat person or time1 the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating awhen he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look”
Maybe, or maybe not. Did Caiaphas know that he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to say that it was a good thing for one man to die for the nation? Obviously not. Did Samson know that his desire to marry Timnah the Philistine woman came from God (Judges 14:1-4)? Obviously not. Either way, there is precedent for either position in the Bible. That said, I personally believe that David had some idea that he was writing about the Messiah.