Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 4:25

"who by the Holy Spirit, [by] the mouth of our father David thy servant, didst say, Why did the Gentiles rage, And the peoples imagine vain things?" — Acts 4:25 (ASV)

Who by the mouth of your servant David ... — The older manuscripts present many variations of the text. It probably stood originally somewhat in this form: “Who through the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of David our father, your servant,” and was simplified by later copyists.

In the citation from Psalm 2 we have another lesson from the Apostles’ school of prophetic interpretation. The Psalm is not cited in the Gospels. Here what seems to us the most striking verse (Acts 4:7) of it is passed over, and it does not appear as referred to Christ until we find it in Hebrews 1:5; Hebrews 5:5.

Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine . . .? — Neither noun has the article in the Greek or in the Hebrew. Why did nations rage and peoples imagine . . .? The word for “rage” is primarily applied to animal ferocity, especially to that of untamed horses.