1 Samuel 18:14-15

18:14 Now David achieved success in all he did, ¹  for the Lord was with him. 18:15 When Saul saw how very successful he was, he was afraid of him.

1 Samuel 18:30

18:30 ²  Then the leaders of the Philistines would march out, and as often as they did so, David achieved more success than all of Saul’s servants. His name was held in high esteem.

Genesis 39:2-3

39:2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful ³  and lived ⁴  in the household of his Egyptian master. 39:3 His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful. ⁵ 

Genesis 39:23

39:23 The warden did not concern himself ⁶  with anything that was in Joseph’s ⁷  care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.

Psalms 1:3

1:3 He is like ⁸  a tree planted by flowing streams; ⁹ 

it ¹⁰  yields ¹¹  its fruit at the proper time, ¹² 

and its leaves never fall off. ¹³ 

He succeeds in everything he attempts. ¹⁴ 

Acts 7:10

7:10 and rescued him from all his troubles, and granted him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made ¹⁵  him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.

¹ tn Heb “in all his ways.”

² tc Verse 30 is absent in most LXX mss.

³ tn Heb “and he was a prosperous man.” This does not mean that Joseph became wealthy, but that he was successful in what he was doing, or making progress in his situation (see 24:21).

⁴ tn Heb “and he was.”

⁵ tn The Hebrew text adds “in his hand,” a phrase not included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn Heb “was not looking at anything.”

⁷ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the same characteristic force as the imperfect in the preceding verse. According to the psalmist, the one who studies and obeys God’s commands typically prospers.

⁹ tn Heb “channels of water.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “which.”

¹¹ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 draw attention to the typical nature of the actions/states they describe.

¹² tn Heb “in its season.”

¹³ tn Or “fade”; “wither.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “and all which he does prospers”; or “and all which he does he causes to prosper.” (The simile of the tree does not extend to this line.) It is not certain if the Hiphil verbal form (יַצְלִיחַ, yatsliakh) is intransitive-exhibitive (“prospers”) or causative (“causes to prosper”) here. If the verb is intransitive, then כֹּל (kol, “all, everything”) is the subject. If the verb is causative, then the godly individual or the Lord himself is the subject and כֹּל is the object. The wording is reminiscent of Josh 1:8, where the Lord tells Joshua: “This law scroll must not leave your lips! You must memorize it day and night so you can carefully obey all that is written in it. Then you will prosper (literally, “cause your way to prosper”) and be successful.”

¹⁵ tn Or “appointed.” See Gen 41:41-43.