Matthew 23:11-12

23:11 The ¹  greatest among you will be your servant. 23:12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Psalms 131:1-2

Psalm 131 ² 

A song of ascents, ³  by David.

131:1 O Lord, my heart is not proud,

nor do I have a haughty look. ⁴ 

I do not have great aspirations,

or concern myself with things that are beyond me. ⁵ 

131:2 Indeed ⁶  I am composed and quiet, ⁷ 

like a young child carried by its mother; ⁸ 

I am content like the young child I carry. ⁹ 

Isaiah 57:15

57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,

the one who rules ¹⁰  forever, whose name is holy:

“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,

but also with the discouraged and humiliated, ¹¹ 

in order to cheer up the humiliated

and to encourage the discouraged. ¹² 

Luke 14:11

14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but ¹³  the one who humbles ¹⁴  himself will be exalted.”

Luke 14:1

Healing Again on the Sabbath

14:1 Now ¹⁵  one Sabbath when Jesus went to dine ¹⁶  at the house of a leader ¹⁷  of the Pharisees, ¹⁸  they were watching ¹⁹  him closely.

Luke 5:5

5:5 Simon ²⁰  answered, ²¹  “Master, ²²  we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word ²³  I will lower ²⁴  the nets.”

James 4:10

4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

[23:11]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[131:1]  ² sn Psalm 131. The psalmist affirms his humble dependence on the Lord and urges Israel to place its trust in God.

[131:1]  ³ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[131:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “and my eyes are not lifted up.”

[131:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “I do not walk in great things, and in things too marvelous for me.”

[131:2]  ⁶ tn Or “but.”

[131:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “I make level and make quiet my soul.”

[131:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “like a weaned [one] upon his mother.”

[131:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “like the weaned [one] upon me, my soul.”

[57:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.

[57:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.

[57:15]  ¹² tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”

[14:11]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context, which involves the reversal of expected roles.

[14:11]  ¹⁴ sn The point of the statement the one who humbles himself will be exalted is humility and the reversal imagery used to underline it is common: Luke 1:52-53; 6:21; 10:15; 18:14.

[14:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Now it happened that one.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[14:1]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “to eat bread,” an idiom for participating in a meal.

[14:1]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “a ruler of the Pharisees.” He was probably a synagogue official.

[14:1]  ¹⁸ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[14:1]  ¹⁹ sn Watching…closely is a graphic term meaning to lurk and watch; see Luke 11:53-54.

[5:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “And Simon.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[5:5]  ²¹ tn Grk “answering, Simon said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation to “Simon answered.”

[5:5]  ²² tn The word ἐπιστάτης is a term of respect for a person of high status (see L&N 87.50).

[5:5]  ²³ tn The expression “at your word,” which shows Peter’s obedience, stands first in the Greek clause for emphasis.

[5:5]  ²⁴ tn Or “let down.”