2:8 He lifts the weak 1 from the dust;
he raises 2 the poor from the ash heap
to seat them with princes
and to bestow on them an honored position. 3
The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord,
and he has placed the world on them.
2:9 He watches over 4 his holy ones, 5
but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness,
for it is not by one’s own strength that one prevails.
9:18 for the needy are not permanently ignored, 6
the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed. 7
14:32 How will they respond to the messengers of this nation? 8
Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure;
the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.
1 tn Or “lowly”; Heb “insignificant.”
2 tn The imperfect verbal form, which is parallel to the participle in the preceding line, is best understood here as indicating what typically happens.
3 tn Heb “a seat of honor.”
4 tn Heb “guards the feet of.” The expression means that God watches over and protects the godly in all of their activities and movements. The imperfect verbal forms in v. 9 are understood as indicating what is typically true. Another option is to translate them with the future tense. See v. 10b.
5 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
6 tn Or “forgotten.”
7 tn Heb “the hope of the afflicted does [not] perish forever.” The negative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the preceding line. The imperfect verbal forms express what typically happens.
8 sn The question forces the Philistines to consider the dilemma they will face – surrender and oppression, or battle and death.