Psalms 22:26

22:26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled! ¹ 

Let those who seek his help praise the Lord!

May you ²  live forever!

Psalms 76:9

76:9 when God arose to execute judgment,

and to deliver all the oppressed of the earth. (Selah)

Psalms 147:6

147:6 The Lord lifts up the oppressed,

but knocks ³  the wicked to the ground.

Psalms 149:4

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

he exalts the oppressed by delivering them. ⁴ 

Isaiah 11:4

11:4 He will treat the poor fairly, ⁵ 

and make right decisions ⁶  for the downtrodden of the earth. ⁷ 

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, ⁸ 

and order the wicked to be executed. ⁹ 

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 ¹⁰  me. ¹¹ 

He has commissioned ¹²  me to encourage ¹³  the poor,

to help ¹⁴  the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

Zephaniah 2:3

2:3 Seek the Lord’s favor, ¹⁵  all you humble people ¹⁶  of the land who have obeyed his commands! ¹⁷ 

Strive to do what is right! ¹⁸  Strive to be humble! ¹⁹ 

Maybe you will be protected ²⁰  on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.

Matthew 5:5

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

Galatians 5:23

5:23 gentleness, and ²¹  self-control. Against such things there is no law.

James 1:21

1:21 So put away all filth and evil excess and humbly ²²  welcome the message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls.

James 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From James, ²³  a slave ²⁴  of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. ²⁵  Greetings!

James 3:4

3:4 Look at ships too: Though they are so large and driven by harsh winds, they are steered by a tiny rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination directs.

James 3:15

3:15 Such ²⁶  wisdom does not come ²⁷  from above but is earthly, natural, ²⁸  demonic.

[22:26]  ¹ sn Eat and be filled. In addition to praising the Lord, the psalmist also offers a thank offering to the Lord and invites others to share in a communal meal.

[22:26]  ² tn Heb “may your heart[s].”

[147:6]  ³ tn Heb “brings down.”

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

[11:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “with justice” (so NAB) or “with righteousness” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[11:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “make decisions with rectitude”; cf. ASV, NRSV “and decide with equity.”

[11:4]  ⁷ tn Or “land” (NAB, NCV, CEV). It is uncertain if the passage is picturing universal dominion or focusing on the king’s rule over his covenant people. The reference to God’s “holy mountain” in v. 9 and the description of renewed Israelite conquests in v. 14 suggest the latter, though v. 10 seems to refer to a universal kingdom (see 2:2-4).

[11:4]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and he will strike the earth with the scepter of his mouth.” Some have suggested that in this context אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) as an object of judgment seems too broad in scope. The parallelism is tighter if one emends the word to ץ(י)עָרִ (’arits, “potentate, tyrant”). The phrase “scepter of his mouth” refers to the royal (note “scepter”) decrees that he proclaims with his mouth. Because these decrees will have authority and power (see v. 2) behind them, they can be described as “striking” the tyrants down. Nevertheless, the MT reading may not need emending. Isaiah refers to the entire “earth” as the object of God’s judgment in several places without specifying the wicked as the object of the judgment (Isa 24:17-21; 26:9, 21; 28:22; cf. 13:11).

[11:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “and by the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.” The “breath of his lips” refers to his speech, specifically in this context his official decrees that the wicked oppressors be eliminated from his realm. See the preceding note.

[61:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.

[61:1]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

[61:1]  ¹³ tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

[61:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”

[2:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “seek the Lord,” but “favor” seems to be implied from the final line of the verse.

[2:3]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Seek what is right.”

[2:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Seek humility.”

[2:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “hidden.” Cf. NEB “it may be that you will find shelter”; NRSV “perhaps you may be hidden.”

[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.

[1:21]  ²² tn Or “with meekness.”

[1:1]  ²³ tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ²⁴ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.

[3:15]  ²⁶ tn Grk “This.”

[3:15]  ²⁷ tn Grk “come down”; “descend.”

[3:15]  ²⁸ 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.