1 Samuel 2:7-8

2:7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy;

he humbles and he exalts.

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.

1 Samuel 2:30

2:30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I really did say ⁴  that your house and your ancestor’s house would serve ⁵  me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May it never be! ⁶  For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed!

Psalms 53:5

53:5 They are absolutely terrified, ⁷ 

even by things that do not normally cause fear. ⁸ 

For God annihilates ⁹  those who attack you. ¹⁰ 

You are able to humiliate them because God has rejected them. ¹¹ 

Obadiah 1:2

1:2 The Lord says, ¹²  “Look! I will ¹³  make you a weak nation; ¹⁴ 

you will be greatly despised!

Micah 7:10

7:10 When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame.

They say ¹⁵  to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”

I will gloat over them. ¹⁶ 

Then they will be trampled down ¹⁷ 

like mud in the streets.

Luke 1:51

1:51 He has demonstrated power ¹⁸  with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance ¹⁹  of their hearts.

[2:8]  ¹ tn Or “lowly”; Heb “insignificant.”

[2:8]  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.

[2:8]  ³ tn Heb “a seat of honor.”

[2:30]  ⁴ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[2:30]  ⁵ tn Heb “walk about before.”

[2:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “may it be far removed from me.”

[53:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “there they are afraid [with] fear.” The perfect verbal form is probably used in a rhetorical manner; the psalmist describes the future demise of the oppressors as if it were already occurring. The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is also used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the wicked standing in fear at a spot that is this vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.). The cognate accusative following the verb emphasizes the degree of their terror (“absolutely”).

[53:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “there is no fear.” Apparently this means the evildoers are so traumatized with panic (see v. 5b) that they now jump with fear at everything, even those things that would not normally cause fear. Ps 14:5 omits this line.

[53:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “scatters the bones.” The perfect is used in a rhetorical manner, describing this future judgment as if it were already accomplished. Scattering the bones alludes to the aftermath of a battle. God annihilates his enemies, leaving their carcasses spread all over the battlefield. As the bodies are devoured by wild animals and decay, the bones of God’s dead enemies are exposed. See Ps 141:7.

[53:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[those who] encamp [against] you.” The second person masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to God’s people viewed as a collective whole. Instead of “for God scatters the bones of those who encamp against you,” Ps 14:5 reads, “for God is with a godly generation.”

[53:5]  ¹¹ tn Once again the perfect is used in a rhetorical manner, describing this future judgment as if it were already accomplished. As in the previous line, God’s people are probably addressed. The second person singular verb form is apparently collective, suggesting that the people are viewed here as a unified whole. Ps 14:6 reads here “the counsel of the oppressed you put to shame, even though God is his shelter,” the words being addressed to the wicked.

[1:2]  ¹² tn The introductory phrase “the Lord says” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation to clarify the identity of the speaker.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew perfect verb form used here usually describes past events. However, here and several times in the following verses it is best understood as portraying certain fulfillment of events that at the time of writing were still future. It is the perfect of certitude. See GKC 312-13 §106.n; Joüon 2:363 §112.h.

[1:2]  ¹⁴ sn Heb “I will make you small among the nations” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); NRSV “least among the nations”; NCV “the smallest of nations.”

[7:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “who say.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “My eyes will look on them.”

[7:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a trampled-down place.”

[1:51]  ¹⁸ tn Or “shown strength,” “performed powerful deeds.” The verbs here switch to aorist tense through 1:55. This is how God will act in general for his people as they look to his ultimate deliverance.

[1:51]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “in the imaginations of their hearts.” The psalm rebukes the arrogance of the proud, who think that power is their sovereign right. Here διανοίᾳ (dianoia) can be understood as a dative of sphere or reference/respect.