1 Samuel 2:3-4

2:3 Don’t keep speaking so arrogantly, ¹ 

letting proud talk come out of your mouth!

For the Lord is a God who knows;

he ²  evaluates what people do.

2:4 The bows of warriors are shattered,

but those who stumble find their strength reinforced.

1 Samuel 14:11-12

14:11 When they ³  made themselves known to the Philistine garrison, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they hid themselves.” 14:12 Then the men of the garrison said to Jonathan and his armor bearer, “Come on up to us so we can teach you a thing or two!” ⁴  Then Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up behind me, for the Lord has given ⁵  them into the hand of Israel!”

1 Samuel 17:44

17:44 The Philistine said to David, “Come here to me, so I can give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the field!” ⁶ 

1 Samuel 17:2

17:2 Saul and the Israelite army ⁷  assembled and camped in the valley of Elah, where they arranged their battle lines to fight against ⁸  the Philistines.

1 Samuel 14:8-12

14:8 Jonathan replied, “All right! ⁹  We’ll go over to these men and fight them. 14:9 If they say to us, ‘Stay put until we approach you,’ we will stay ¹⁰  right there and not go up to them. 14:10 But if they say, ‘Come up against us,’ we will go up. For in that case the Lord has given them into our hand – it will be a sign to us.”

14:11 When they ¹¹  made themselves known to the Philistine garrison, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they hid themselves.” 14:12 Then the men of the garrison said to Jonathan and his armor bearer, “Come on up to us so we can teach you a thing or two!” ¹²  Then Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up behind me, for the Lord has given ¹³  them into the hand of Israel!”

Proverbs 18:12

18:12 Before destruction the heart ¹⁴  of a person is proud,

but humility comes ¹⁵  before honor. ¹⁶ 

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “proudly, proudly.” If MT is original, the repetition of the word is for emphasis, stressing the arrogance of those addressed. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts and some other textual witnesses do not reflect the repetition, suggesting that the Hebrew text may be dittographic.

[2:3]  ² tc The MT (Qere) reads “and by him actions are weighed.” The translation assumes that reading of the Qere וְלוֹ (vÿlo, “and by him”), which is supported by many medieval Hebrew mss, is correct, rather than the reading of the Kethib וְלוֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

[14:11]  ³ tn Heb “the two of them.”

[14:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “a thing.”

[14:12]  ⁵ tn The perfect verbal form is used rhetorically here to express Jonathan’s certitude. As far as he is concerned, the victory is as good as won and can be described as such.

[17:44]  ⁶ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss have “the earth” here, instead of the MT’s “the field.”

[17:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “the men of Israel” (so KJV, NASB); NAB, NIV, NRSV “the Israelites.”

[17:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “to meet.”

[14:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “Look!”

[14:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “stand.”

[14:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the two of them.”

[14:12]  ¹² tn Heb “a thing.”

[14:12]  ¹³ tn The perfect verbal form is used rhetorically here to express Jonathan’s certitude. As far as he is concerned, the victory is as good as won and can be described as such.

[18:12]  ¹⁴ sn The term “heart” is a metonymy of subject, referring to the seat of the spiritual and intellectual capacities – the mind, the will, the motivations and intentions. Proud ambitions and intentions will lead to a fall.

[18:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[is] before honor”; cf. CEV “humility leads to honor.”

[18:12]  ¹⁶ sn The way to honor is through humility (e.g., Prov 11:2; 15:33; 16:18). The humility and exaltation of Jesus provides the classic example (Phil 2:1-10).