Acts 1:20 (YLT)

Passage

for it hath been written in the book of Psalms: Let his lodging-place become desolate, and let no one be dwelling in it, and his oversight let another take.

Nearby Context

Acts 1:18 this one, indeed, then, purchased a field out of the reward of unrighteousness, and falling headlong, burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed forth,

Acts 1:19 and it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem, insomuch that that place is called, in their proper dialect, Aceldama, that is, field of blood,

Acts 1:20 for it hath been written in the book of Psalms: Let his lodging-place become desolate, and let no one be dwelling in it, and his oversight let another take.

Acts 1:21 `It behoveth, therefore, of the men who did go with us during all the time in which the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us,

Acts 1:22 beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day in which he was received up from us, one of these to become with us a witness of his rising again.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hath", "been", "written", "book", "psalms", "lodging-place", "become", and "desolate". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hath" and "been", 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 those..." into verse 21's "It behoveth therefore of the men who...", so "hath" and "been" 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 "hath" and "been" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.