Acts 1:20 (LSB)

Passage

“For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his residence be made desolate, And let no one dwell in it’; and, ‘Let another man take his office.’

Nearby Context

Acts 1:18 (Now this man acquired a field with the price of his unrighteousness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.

Acts 1:19 And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

Acts 1:20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his residence be made desolate, And let no one dwell in it’; and, ‘Let another man take his office.’

Acts 1:21 Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us—

Acts 1:22 beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "written", "book", "psalms", "residence", "desolate", "dwell", "another", and "take". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "written" and "book", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "And it became known to all who..." into verse 21's "Therefore it is necessary that of the...", so "written" and "book" belong inside that flow. In Acts context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "written" and "book" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.