Acts 1:20

Acts 1:20, in plain English

Peter quotes Psalms to show that Scripture predicted both that Judas's position would be left vacant and that someone else would take his place as an apostle.

Why it's here

Peter cites Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8—passages about enemies and their ruin. Peter is showing that even Judas's downfall and the need to replace him were written about in advance. This isn't chaos; it's the unfolding of God's word. Someone needs to be chosen to fill the apostolic vacancy.

Who's speaking

Peter, quoting the Psalms

Where it sits in the story

The early church understood the Old Testament as prophetic Scripture pointing directly to Jesus and events surrounding Him. This hermeneutic—this way of reading Scripture—becomes foundational to how they interpret and proclaim Jesus throughout Acts.

The scholarly reading

Peter quotes Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8, arguing that Scripture foretells the vacating of Judas's position and the necessity of replacing it with another apostle.

Language and setting

These Psalm quotations employ pesharim-style interpretation, characteristic of Second Temple Judaism: the original psalmist's lament about enemies is read as prophetically describing the betrayer of the Messiah. The first citation ('May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it') comes from Psalm 69:25 (MT 26), where the psalmist imprecates his enemies. The second ('May another take his position') is from Psalm 109:8. Peter reads these laments as divinely inspired predictions of Judas's exclusion and replacement. This hermeneutic assumes what scholars call the 'corporate personality' of the Twelve—Judas's apostolic office is distinct from his person; the office endures even when the person falls into apostasy. The quotations establish scriptural warrant for the replacement procedure about to unfold (verses 21-26).

Voice

Peter, citing the Psalms to establish scriptural necessity for Judas's replacement.

Significance

This moment shows the apostolic community reading Scripture christologically and ecclesially: the Psalms speak not merely of David's enemies but of the Messiah's betrayal and the church's continuity. The hermeneutical move from 'Judas the traitor' to 'the vacant apostolic office that must be filled' reflects the church's developing theology of apostolic succession—the office is divinely constituted and must be maintained, though individual apostles may fall away.

18(Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.

19This became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so they called that field in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

20“For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ ‘May another take his position.’

21Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

22beginning from John’s baptism until the day Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

Read all of Acts 1 — Jesus ascends. The disciples wait. And then everything changes. This is the story of how a handful of ordinary people turned the world upside down.