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"Yahuah Said to My Lord" — Psalm 110:1

Nazaryah
9 min read
Psalm 110 Trinity Adoni vs Adonai Royal Enthronement Acts 2 Hebrew Grammar Proof Text Yahushua

Trinitarian Argument Strength: ★★☆☆☆ 2 out of 5 — The verse is well-known and sounds impressive at first, but the Hebrew wording, the royal psalm genre, and Peter’s plain interpretation in Acts 2:36 all work against the Trinitarian reading. It collapses quickly under close examination.

Part One — Framing the Trinitarian Claim

1.1 — The Verse Under Examination

“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” — Psalm 110:1 (KJV)

This single verse is one of the most quoted Old Testament passages in the New Testament. It shows up in the Gospels, in Acts, in Paul’s letters, and in Hebrews. Because of that, Trinitarians lean on it heavily. Their argument goes like this: two separate “Lords” appear in the verse, and since one of them is Yahuah (LORD in the KJV), the second “Lord” must also be a divine person. They then connect this to Yahushua (Jesus) being called “Lord” in the New Testament and conclude that the Messiah must be a second person within one God.

1.2 — The Problems Before We Even Open the Hebrew

Before we even look at the original language, the Trinitarian reading has a built-in problem. If the second “Lord” in this verse is Yahuah Himself, then the text would be saying Yahuah spoke to Yahuah. But that is not what the text says. The whole point of the verse is that there are two different figures — the one who speaks (Yahuah) and the one who sits (the appointed ruler). Two different persons, yes. Two different Gods, or two persons in one God? The text never says that.

Think of it this way. If your boss says, “Sit at the head of the table until I finish dealing with the competition,” nobody would assume you and your boss are the same person. One is giving the order. The other is receiving it.

Part Two — Verse-by-Verse Examination

2.1 — The Hebrew Behind “My Lord” — Adoni vs. Adonai

This is the single most important detail in the entire debate, and it is hiding in plain sight. In Hebrew, the word translated “my Lord” in Psalm 110:1 is adoni (אֲדֹנִי). This is not the same word used when speaking about Yahuah. When the Bible addresses Yahuah directly, the word is Adonai (אֲדֹנָי) — a form reserved for the Almighty. But adoni is the everyday word for “my master” or “my lord.” It is used all over the Old Testament for human kings, military commanders, husbands, and other authority figures.

Here are clear examples:

  • Genesis 23:6 — the Hittites call Abraham “my lord” (adoni). Nobody claims Abraham was a divine person.
  • 1 Samuel 24:8 — David bows to King Saul and calls him “my lord the king” (adoni). Same word.
  • 1 Kings 1:17 — Bathsheba addresses King David as “my lord, O king” (adoni). Same word again.

None of these people are Yahuah. The Hebrew itself is telling us: the second figure in Psalm 110:1 is a human lord — a king — not a second divine person. If the Holy Spirit wanted readers to understand the second figure as Yahuah, the text would have used Adonai. It did not. It used the common, everyday word for a human superior.

The Hebrew scholar Michael Heiser, though a Trinitarian, acknowledged that adoni never refers to Yahuah in the Hebrew Bible — it is consistently used for human beings. This admission comes from inside the Trinitarian camp. The Hebrew made a deliberate choice, and that choice rules out the Trinitarian claim at the very foundation.

2.2 — The Type of Psalm — Royal Enthronement, Not a Statement About Who Yahuah Is

Psalm 110 belongs to a well-known category of psalms called royal enthronement psalms. These are poems written for the crowning or installation of a king in Israel. They use grand, exalted language to describe the king’s authority — but that authority always comes from Yahuah. The king is never presented as equal to Yahuah. He is always presented as Yahuah’s chosen agent.

Look at the pattern across these psalms:

  • Psalm 2:6–7 — Yahuah says, “I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion,” and then declares the king to be His “son.” That is installation language. The king does not install himself.
  • 2 Samuel 7:12–14 — Yahuah promises David that his offspring will sit on his throne, and Yahuah will be a father to him. The ruler receives his position from Yahuah.
  • Psalm 89:20–27 — The anointed king is exalted above other kings, but the text is crystal clear: Yahuah is the one doing the exalting. The king is still under Yahuah’s authority.

In every case, the king sits at Yahuah’s right hand. The king receives Yahuah’s authority. The king acts on Yahuah’s behalf. But the king is never Yahuah. Psalm 110:1 fits this pattern exactly.

2.3 — The English Deception in Most Translations

The KJV translation “The LORD said unto my Lord” makes both words look the same — both appear to be “Lord.” But in the Hebrew, they are completely different. The first “LORD” (all capitals) is the Tetragrammaton — YHWH — the personal name of the Almighty. The second “Lord” (initial capital only) is adoni — a human title of respect.

When you read the verse in English and see two “Lords,” you might think they have the same status. When you read the Hebrew, you see they are entirely different words. This is one of the most significant cases in which English translation obscures a point that is unmistakable in the original language.

Part Three — What the New Testament Actually Says About This Verse

3.1 — Peter’s Interpretation in Acts 2

The most authoritative interpretation of Psalm 110:1 in the New Testament comes from the Apostle Peter at Pentecost:

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” — Acts 2:36 (KJV)

Pay very close attention to Peter’s conclusion. He says Yahuah (God) made Yahushua both Lord and Christ. Not that Yahushua already was Lord and Christ. Not that Yahushua is Yahuah. But that Yahuah made him Lord and Christ through the resurrection.

Just before this, Peter quoted Psalm 110:1 in Acts 2:34–35. And his conclusion — drawn directly from that quotation — is not “Yahushua is Yahuah.” His conclusion is “Yahuah made Yahushua Lord.” The “Lord” in Psalm 110:1 (adoni) is a title that Yahuah bestows on the Messiah. Peter understood it that way. His sermon makes this explicit.

3.2 — Yahushua’s Own Use of Psalm 110:1

In Matthew 22:41–46, Yahushua cites Psalm 110:1 to confound the Pharisees. He asks: “If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?” The point of the question is that the Messiah is both a descendant of David and the one to whom David shows respect. Yahushua is not arguing that the Messiah is Yahuah. He is arguing that the Messiah occupies a position of honor above a human ancestor — while still being human. The conundrum he poses is about royal honor and Davidic descent, not about divine nature.

3.3 — Hebrews 1:13 — Context Confirms the Agency Reading

The book of Hebrews quotes Psalm 110:1 in a section that compares Yahushua’s position to that of angels: “But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?” (Hebrews 1:13). The argument is that Yahushua is greater than angels — not that Yahushua is Yahuah. Hebrews 1:13 proves that the “sitting at the right hand” is a position of appointment and honor — a position the angels do not receive, but which the Messiah does. It is delegated authority, not inherent divine equality.

Part Four — “Sitting at the Right Hand” — What It Means

4.1 — A Seat of Delegated Authority

Throughout the ancient Near East, sitting at a king’s right hand was the seat of the co-regent or chief official — the one who acted with full delegated authority in the king’s name. It was the highest honor a subordinate could receive. It did not make the one sitting co-equal with the king. It meant the king trusted that person completely to act on his behalf.

When the New Testament says Yahushua sat down at the right hand of Yahuah (Acts 2:33; Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3), it is describing exactly this relationship. Yahushua is the appointed regent, seated in the place of maximum delegated authority. Yahuah is still the King. Yahushua still acts on behalf of Yahuah. The one who seats is always greater than the one who is seated.

Part Five — Summary and Conclusion

5.1 — What the Text Actually Says

Psalm 110:1 records Yahuah speaking to a royal figure — the king of Israel — and installing him in a place of honor and authority. The second “Lord” in the verse is adoni, the Hebrew word for a human master, never used for Yahuah anywhere in the Old Testament. The psalm is a royal enthronement psalm, consistent with the pattern of every other enthronement text in the Hebrew Bible. The New Testament interprets the psalm as describing Yahushua’s exaltation — his appointment to a position of royal authority — not his equality with Yahuah.

Peter’s conclusion in Acts 2:36 is the apostolic interpretation: Yahuah made Yahushua Lord and Messiah. Not: Yahushua is Yahuah.

5.2 — What the Trinitarian Reading Requires

To make Psalm 110:1 a proof of the Trinity, Trinitarians must: treat adoni as equivalent to Adonai, ignoring the distinction that is explicit in the Hebrew; read a royal enthronement psalm as a theological statement about the inner structure of the Godhead; ignore Peter’s own interpretation in Acts 2:36, which says Yahuah “made” Yahushua Lord; and ignore the “sitting at the right hand” language, which throughout the ancient world described delegated authority rather than equality with the one granting the seat.

5.3 — Conclusion

Psalm 110:1 is a royal psalm. Adoni is a human title. The Messiah is seated at Yahuah’s right hand — honored, exalted, and given all authority. But the one who gives the seat is always greater than the one who receives it. The distinction is in the Hebrew. The New Testament confirms it. And Peter said it plainly.

“God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” — Acts 2:36 (KJV)