1 Samuel 2:8

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.

Psalms 18:7

18:7 The earth heaved and shook; ⁴ 

the roots of the mountains ⁵  trembled; ⁶ 

they heaved because he was angry.

Haggai 2:21

2:21 Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah: ‘I am ready ⁷  to shake the sky ⁸  and the earth.

Hebrews 12:26-27

12:26 Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.” ⁹  12:27 Now this phrase “once more” indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain.

Hebrews 12:2

12:2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. ¹⁰ 

Hebrews 3:10

3:10 “Therefore, I became provoked at that generation and said, ‘Their hearts are always wandering ¹¹  and they have not known my ways.’

Revelation 20:11

The Great White Throne

20:11 Then ¹²  I saw a large ¹³  white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven ¹⁴  fled ¹⁵  from his presence, and no place was found for them.

[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.”

[18:7]  ⁴ sn The earth heaved and shook. The imagery pictures an earthquake in which the earth’s surface rises and falls. The earthquake motif is common in OT theophanies of God as warrior and in ancient Near Eastern literary descriptions of warring gods and kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 160-62.

[18:7]  ⁵ tn 2 Sam 22:8 has “heavens” which forms a merism with “earth” in the preceding line. The “foundations of the heavens” would be the mountains. However, the reading “foundations of the mountains” has a parallel in Deut 32:22.

[18:7]  ⁶ tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not an imperfect. Note the three prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive in the verse.

[2:21]  ⁷ tn The participle here suggests an imminent undertaking of action (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT “I am about to”). The overall language of the passage is eschatological, but eschatology finds its roots in the present.

[2:21]  ⁸ tn See the note on the word “sky” in 2:6. Most English translations render the Hebrew term as “heavens” here.

[12:26]  ⁹ sn A quotation from Hag 2:6.

[12:2]  ¹⁰ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.

[3:10]  ¹¹ tn Grk “they are wandering in the heart.”

[20:11]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[20:11]  ¹³ tn Traditionally, “great,” but μέγας (megas) here refers to size rather than importance.

[20:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “and the sky.” The same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky,” and context usually determines which is meant. In this apocalyptic scene, however, it is difficult to be sure what referent to assign the term.

[20:11]  ¹⁵ tn Or “vanished.”