Isaiah 61:1

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,

because the Lord has chosen ¹  me. ² 

He has commissioned ³  me to encourage ⁴  the poor,

to help ⁵  the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

Psalms 25:9

25:9 May he show ⁶  the humble what is right! ⁷ 

May he teach ⁸  the humble his way!

Psalms 37:11

37:11 But the oppressed will possess the land

and enjoy great prosperity. ⁹ 

Psalms 149:4

149:4 For the Lord takes delight in his people;

he exalts the oppressed by delivering them. ¹⁰ 

Zephaniah 2:3

2:3 Seek the Lord’s favor, ¹¹  all you humble people ¹²  of the land who have obeyed his commands! ¹³ 

Strive to do what is right! ¹⁴  Strive to be humble! ¹⁵ 

Maybe you will be protected ¹⁶  on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.

Matthew 5:5

5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Matthew 11:29

11:29 Take my yoke ¹⁷  on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Galatians 5:22-23

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit ¹⁸  is love, ¹⁹  joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²⁰  5:23 gentleness, and ²¹  self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Ephesians 4:2

4:2 with all humility and gentleness, ²²  with patience, bearing with ²³  one another in love,

Philippians 2:1-3

Christian Unity and Christ’s Humility

2:1 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, ²⁴  any affection or mercy, ²⁵  2:2 complete my joy and be of the same mind, ²⁶  by having the same love, being united in spirit, ²⁷  and having one purpose. 2:3 Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition ²⁸  or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself.

James 1:21

1:21 So put away all filth and evil excess and humbly ²⁹  welcome the message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls.

James 2:5

2:5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! ³⁰  Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?

James 3:13-18

True Wisdom

3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings. ³¹  3:14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth. 3:15 Such ³²  wisdom does not come ³³  from above but is earthly, natural, ³⁴  demonic. 3:16 For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice. 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, ³⁵  full of mercy and good fruit, ³⁶  impartial, and not hypocritical. ³⁷  3:18 And the fruit that consists of righteousness ³⁸  is planted ³⁹  in peace among ⁴⁰  those who make peace.

James 3:1

The Power of the Tongue

3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, ⁴¹  because you know that we will be judged more strictly. ⁴² 

James 2:1-3

Prejudice and the Law of Love

2:1 My brothers and sisters, ⁴³  do not show prejudice ⁴⁴  if you possess faith ⁴⁵  in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴⁶  2:2 For if someone ⁴⁷  comes into your assembly ⁴⁸  wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes, 2:3 do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, ⁴⁹  “You sit here in a good place,” ⁵⁰  and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”? ⁵¹ 

[61:1]  ¹ tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.

[61:1]  ² sn The speaker is not identified, but he is distinct from the Lord and from Zion’s suffering people. He possesses the divine spirit, is God’s spokesman, and is sent to release prisoners from bondage. The evidence suggests he is the Lord’s special servant, described earlier in the servant songs (see 42:1-4, 7; 49:2, 9; 50:4; see also 51:16).

[61:1]  ³ tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

[61:1]  ⁴ tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

[61:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”

[25:9]  ⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive; the psalmist expresses his prayer.

[25:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “may he guide the humble into justice.” The Hebrew term עֲנָוִים (’anavim, “humble”) usually refers to the oppressed, but in this context, where the psalmist confesses his sin and asks for moral guidance, it apparently refers to sinners who humble themselves before God and seek deliverance from their sinful condition.

[25:9]  ⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form is interpreted as a jussive (it stands parallel to the jussive form, “may he guide”).

[37:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “and they will take delight in (see v. 4) abundance of peace.”

[149:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he honors the oppressed [with] deliverance.”

[2:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “seek the Lord,” but “favor” seems to be implied from the final line of the verse.

[2:3]  ¹² tn Or “poor.” The precise referent of this Hebrew term is unclear. The word may refer to the economically poor or to the spiritually humble.

[2:3]  ¹³ tn The present translation assumes the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) here refers to God’s covenantal requirements and is a synonym for the Law. The word can mean “justice” and could refer more specifically to the principles of justice contained in the Law. In this case the phrase could be translated, “who have promoted the justice God demands.”

[2:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Seek what is right.”

[2:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Seek humility.”

[2:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “hidden.” Cf. NEB “it may be that you will find shelter”; NRSV “perhaps you may be hidden.”

[11:29]  ¹⁷ sn A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen or horses so that they can pull a wagon, plow, etc. together. Here it is used figuratively of the restrictions that a teacher or rabbi would place on his followers.

[5:22]  ¹⁸ tn That is, the fruit the Spirit produces.

[5:22]  ¹⁹ sn Another way to punctuate this is “love” followed by a colon (love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). It is thus possible to read the eight characteristics following “love” as defining love.

[5:22]  ²⁰ tn Or “reliability”; see BDAG 818 s.v. πίστις 1.a.

[5:23]  ²¹ tn “And” is supplied here as a matter of English style, which normally inserts “and” between the last two elements of a list or series.

[4:2]  ²² tn Or “meekness.” The word is often used in Hellenistic Greek of the merciful execution of justice on behalf of those who have no voice by those who are in a position of authority (Matt 11:29; 21:5).

[4:2]  ²³ tn Or “putting up with”; or “forbearing.”

[2:1]  ²⁴ tn Or “spiritual fellowship” if πνεύματος (pneumato") is an attributive genitive; or “fellowship brought about by the Spirit” if πνεύματος is a genitive of source or production.

[2:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “and any affection and mercy.” The Greek idea, however, is best expressed by “or” in English.

[2:2]  ²⁶ tn Or “and feel the same way,” “and think the same thoughts.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated “and be of the same mind” to reflect its epexegetical force to the imperative “complete my joy.”

[2:2]  ²⁷ tn The Greek word here is σύμψυχοι (sumyucoi, literally “fellow souled”).

[2:3]  ²⁸ tn Grk “not according to selfish ambition.” There is no main verb in this verse; the subjunctive φρονῆτε (fronhte, “be of the same mind”) is implied here as well. Thus, although most translations supply the verb “do” at the beginning of v. 3 (e.g., “do nothing from selfish ambition”), the idea is even stronger than that: “Don’t even think any thoughts motivated by selfish ambition.”

[1:21]  ²⁹ tn Or “with meekness.”

[2:5]  ³⁰ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[3:13]  ³¹ tn Grk “works in the gentleness of wisdom.”

[3:15]  ³² tn Grk “This.”

[3:15]  ³³ tn Grk “come down”; “descend.”

[3:15]  ³⁴ tn Grk “soulish,” which describes life apart from God, characteristic of earthly human life as opposed to what is spiritual. Cf. 1 Cor 2:14; 15:44-46; Jude 19.

[3:17]  ³⁵ tn Or “willing to yield,” “open to persuasion.”

[3:17]  ³⁶ tn Grk “fruits.” The plural Greek term καρπούς has been translated with the collective singular “fruit.”

[3:17]  ³⁷ tn Or “sincere.”

[3:18]  ³⁸ tn Grk “the fruit of righteousness,” meaning righteous living as a fruit, as the thing produced.

[3:18]  ³⁹ tn Grk “is sown.”

[3:18]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “for,” or possibly “by.”

[3:1]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[3:1]  ⁴² tn Grk “will receive a greater judgment.”

[2:1]  ⁴³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “partiality.”

[2:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “do not have faith with personal prejudice,” with emphasis on the last phrase.

[2:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “our Lord Jesus Christ of glory.” Here δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:2]  ⁴⁷ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, “equivalent to τὶς someone.”

[2:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “synagogue.” Usually συναγωγή refers to Jewish places of worship (e.g., Matt 4:23, Mark 1:21, Luke 4:15, John 6:59). The word can be used generally to refer to a place of assembly, and here it refers specifically to a Christian assembly (BDAG 963 s.v. 2.b.).

[2:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “and you pay attention…and say,” continuing the “if” clauses from v. 2. In the Greek text, vv. 2-4 form one long sentence.

[2:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “sit here, please.”

[2:3]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “sit under my footstool.” The words “on the floor” have been supplied in the translation to clarify for the modern reader the undesirability of this seating arrangement (so also TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). Another option followed by a number of translations is to replace “under my footstool” with “at my feet” (NAB, NIV, NRSV).