Matthew 5:3

5:3 “Blessed ¹  are the poor in spirit, ²  for the kingdom of heaven belongs ³  to them.

Matthew 18:4

18:4 Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Job 22:29

22:29 When people are brought low ⁴  and you say

‘Lift them up!’ ⁵ 

then he will save the downcast; ⁶ 

Psalms 138:6

138:6 Though the Lord is exalted, he takes note of the lowly,

and recognizes the proud from far away.

Proverbs 15:33

15:33 The fear of the Lord provides wise instruction, ⁷ 

and before honor comes humility. ⁸ 

Proverbs 16:18-19

16:18 Pride ⁹  goes ¹⁰  before destruction,

and a haughty spirit before a fall. ¹¹ 

16:19 It is better to be lowly in spirit ¹²  with the afflicted

than to share the spoils ¹³  with the proud.

Proverbs 29:23

29:23 A person’s pride ¹⁴  will bring him low, ¹⁵ 

but one who has a lowly spirit ¹⁶  will gain honor.

Isaiah 57:15

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

the one who rules ¹⁷  forever, whose name is holy:

“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,

but also with the discouraged and humiliated, ¹⁸ 

in order to cheer up the humiliated

and to encourage the discouraged. ¹⁹ 

Daniel 4:37

4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all his deeds are right and his ways are just. He is able to bring down those who live ²⁰  in pride.

Luke 1:51-52

1:51 He has demonstrated power ²¹  with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance ²²  of their hearts.

1:52 He has brought down the mighty ²³  from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position; ²⁴ 

Luke 14:11

14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but ²⁵  the one who humbles ²⁶  himself will be exalted.”

Luke 18:14

18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified ²⁷  rather than the Pharisee. ²⁸  For everyone who exalts ²⁹  himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

James 4:6

4:6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” ³⁰ 

James 4:1

Passions and Pride

4:1 Where do the conflicts and where ³¹  do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, ³²  from your passions that battle inside you? ³³ 

James 5:5

5:5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ³⁴ 

[5:3]  ¹ sn The term Blessed introduces the first of several beatitudes promising blessing to those whom God cares for. They serve as an invitation to come into the grace God offers.

[5:3]  ² sn The poor in spirit is a reference to the “pious poor” for whom God especially cares. See Ps 14:6; 22:24; 25:16; 34:6; 40:17; 69:29.

[5:3]  ³ sn The present tense (belongs) here is significant. Jesus makes the kingdom and its blessings currently available. This phrase is unlike the others in the list with the possessive pronoun being emphasized.

[22:29]  ⁴ tn There is no expressed subject here, and so the verb is taken as a passive voice again.

[22:29]  ⁵ tn The word גֵּוָה (gevah) means “loftiness; pride.” Here it simply says “up,” or “pride.” The rest is paraphrased. Of the many suggestions, the following provide a sampling: “It is because of pride” (ESV), “he abases pride” (H. H. Rowley); “[he abases] the lofty and the proud” (Beer); “[he abases] the word of pride” [Duhm]; “[he abases] the haughtiness of pride” [Fohrer and others]; “[he abases] the one who speaks proudly” [Weiser]; “[he abases] the one who boasts in pride” [Kissane]; and “God [abases] pride” [Budde, Gray].

[22:29]  ⁶ tn Or “humble”; Heb “the lowly of eyes.”

[15:33]  ⁷ tn Heb “[is] instruction of wisdom” (KJV and NASB similar). The noun translated “wisdom” is an attributive genitive: “wise instruction.”

[15:33]  ⁸ tn Heb “[is] humility” (so KJV). The second clause is a parallel idea in that it stresses how one thing leads to another – humility to honor. Humble submission in faith to the Lord brings wisdom and honor.

[16:18]  ⁹ sn The two lines of this proverb are synonymous parallelism, and so there are parasynonyms. “Pride” is paired with “haughty spirit” (“spirit” being a genitive of specification); and “destruction” is matched with “a tottering, falling.”

[16:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[is] before destruction.”

[16:18]  ¹¹ sn Many proverbs have been written in a similar way to warn against the inevitable disintegration and downfall of pride. W. McKane records an Arabic proverb: “The nose is in the heavens, the seat is in the mire” (Proverbs [OTL], 490).

[16:19]  ¹² tn Heb “low of spirit”; KJV “of an humble spirit.” This expression describes the person who is humble and submissive before the Lord and therefore inoffensive. It is always necessary to have a humble spirit, whether there is wealth or not.

[16:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “than to divide plunder.” The word “plunder” implies that the wealth taken by the proud was taken violently and wrongfully – spoils are usually taken in warfare. R. N. Whybray translates it with “loot” (Proverbs [CBC], 95). The proud are in rebellion against God, overbearing and oppressive. One should never share the “loot” with them.

[29:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “pride of a man,” with “man” functioning as a possessive. There is no indication in the immediate context that this is restricted only to males.

[29:23]  ¹⁵ tn There is a wordplay here due to the repetition of the root שָׁפֵל (shafel). In the first line the verb תִּשְׁפִּילֶנּוּ (tishpilennu) is the Hiphil imperfect of the root, rendered “will bring him low.” In the second line the word is used in the description of the “lowly of spirit,” שְׁפַל־רוּחַ (shÿfal-ruakh). The contrast works well: The proud will be brought “low,” but the one who is “lowly” will be honored. In this instance the wordplay can be preserved in the translation.

[29:23]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “low in spirit”; KJV “humble in spirit.” This refers to an attitude of humility.

[57:15]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”

[4:37]  ²⁰ tn Aram “walk.”

[1:51]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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.

[1:52]  ²³ tn Or “rulers.”

[1:52]  ²⁴ tn Or “those of humble position”

[14:11]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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.

[18:14]  ²⁷ sn The prayer that was heard and honored was the one given with humility; in a surprising reversal it was the tax collector who went down to his home justified.

[18:14]  ²⁸ tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:14]  ²⁹ sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.

[4:6]  ³⁰ sn A quotation from Prov 3:34.

[4:1]  ³¹ tn The word “where” is repeated in Greek for emphasis.

[4:1]  ³² tn Grk “from here.”

[4:1]  ³³ tn Grk “in your members [i.e., parts of the body].”

[5:5]  ³⁴ sn James’ point seems to be that instead of seeking deliverance from condemnation, they have defied God’s law (fattened your hearts) and made themselves more likely objects of his judgment (in a day of slaughter).