2 Samuel 3:1

3:1 However, the war was prolonged between the house of Saul and the house of David. David was becoming steadily stronger, while the house of Saul was becoming increasingly weaker.

Job 17:9

17:9 But the righteous man holds to his way,

and the one with clean hands grows stronger. ¹ 

Proverbs 4:18

4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light, ² 

growing brighter and brighter ³  until full day. ⁴ 

Isaiah 9:7

9:7 His dominion will be vast ⁵ 

and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. ⁶ 

He will rule on David’s throne

and over David’s kingdom, ⁷ 

establishing it ⁸  and strengthening it

by promoting justice and fairness, ⁹ 

from this time forward and forevermore.

The Lord’s intense devotion to his people ¹⁰  will accomplish this.

Daniel 2:44-45

2:44 In the days of those kings the God of heaven will raise up an everlasting kingdom that will not be destroyed and a kingdom that will not be left to another people. It will break in pieces and bring about the demise of all these kingdoms. But it will stand forever. 2:45 You saw that a stone was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands; it smashed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold into pieces. The great God has made known to the king what will occur in the future. ¹¹  The dream is certain, and its interpretation is reliable.”

Luke 2:52

2:52 And Jesus increased ¹²  in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and with people.

¹ tn The last two words are the imperfect verb יֹסִיף (yosif) which means “he adds,” and the abstract noun “energy, strength.” This noun is not found elsewhere; its Piel verb occurs in Job 4:4 and 16:5. “he increases strength.”

² tn Heb “like light of brightness.” This construction is an attributive genitive: “bright light.” The word “light” (אוֹר, ’or) refers to the early morning light or the dawn (BDB 21 s.v.). The point of the simile is that the course of life that the righteous follow is like the clear, bright morning light. It is illumined, clear, easy to follow, and healthy and safe – the opposite of what darkness represents.

³ tn The construction uses the Qal active participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) in a metaphorical sense to add the idea of continuance or continually to the participle הוֹלֵךְ (holekh). Here the path was growing light, but the added participle signifies continually.

⁴ tn Heb “until the day is established.” This expression refers to the coming of the full day or the time of high noon.

⁵ tc The Hebrew text has לְםַרְבֵּה (lÿmarbeh), which is a corrupt reading. לם is dittographic; note the preceding word, שָׁלוֹם (shalom). The corrected text reads literally, “great is the dominion.”

⁶ tn Heb “and to peace there will be no end” (KJV and ASV both similar). On the political and socio-economic sense of שָׁלוֹם (shalom) in this context, see the note at v. 6 on “Prince of Peace.”

⁷ tn Heb “over the throne of David, and over his kingdom.” The referent of the pronoun “his” (i.e., David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn The feminine singular pronominal suffix on this form and the following one (translated “it” both times) refers back to the grammatically feminine noun “kingdom.”

⁹ tn Heb “with/by justice and fairness”; ASV “with justice and with righteousness.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “the zeal of the Lord.” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to vindicate them and to fulfill his promises to David and the nation.

¹¹ tn Aram “after this.”

¹² tn Or “kept increasing.” The imperfect tense suggests something of a progressive force to the verb.