Psalms 75:6-7

75:6 For victory does not come from the east or west,

or from the wilderness. ¹ 

75:7 For God is the judge! ² 

He brings one down and exalts another. ³ 

Psalms 107:41

107:41 Yet he protected ⁴  the needy from oppression,

and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.

Job 5:11

5:11 he sets ⁵  the lowly ⁶  on high,

that those who mourn ⁷  are raised ⁸  to safety.

Job 5:15-16

5:15 So he saves ⁹  from the sword that comes from their mouth, ¹⁰ 

even ¹¹  the poor from the hand of the powerful.

5:16 Thus the poor have hope,

and iniquity ¹²  shuts its mouth. ¹³ 

Ezekiel 17:24

17:24 All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord.

I make the high tree low; I raise up the low tree.

I make the green tree wither, and I make the dry tree sprout.

I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it!’”

Ezekiel 21:26-27

21:26 this is what the sovereign Lord says:

Tear off the turban, ¹⁴ 

take off the crown!

Things must change! ¹⁵ 

Exalt the lowly,

bring down the proud! ¹⁶ 

21:27 A total ruin I will make it! ¹⁷ 

It will come to an end

when the one arrives to whom I have assigned judgment.’ ¹⁸ 

Luke 1:52-53

1:52 He has brought down the mighty ¹⁹  from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position; ²⁰ 

1:53 he has filled the hungry with good things, ²¹  and has sent the rich away empty. ²² 

James 2:5

2:5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! ²³  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?

[75:6]  ¹ tn Heb “for not from the east or from the west, and not from the wilderness of the mountains.” If one follows this reading the sentence is elliptical. One must supply “does help come,” or some comparable statement. However, it is possible to take הָרִים (harim) as a Hiphil infinitive from רוּם (rum), the same verb used in vv. 4-5 of “lifting up” a horn. In this case one may translate the form as “victory.” In this case the point is that victory does not come from alliances with other nations.

[75:7]  ² tn Or “judges.”

[75:7]  ³ tn The imperfects here emphasize the generalizing nature of the statement.

[107:41]  ⁴ tn Heb “set on high.”

[5:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “setting.” The infinitive construct clause is here taken as explaining the nature of God, and so parallel to the preceding descriptions. If read simply as a purpose clause after the previous verse, it would suggest that the purpose of watering the earth was to raise the humble (cf. NASB, “And sends water on the fields, // So that He sets on high those who are lowly”). A. B. Davidson (Job, 39) makes a case for this interpretation, saying that God’s gifts in nature have the wider purpose of blessing man, but he prefers to see the line as another benevolence, parallel to v. 10, and so suggests a translation “setting up” rather than “to set up.”

[5:11]  ⁶ tn The word שְׁפָלִים (shÿfalim) refers to “those who are down.” This refers to the lowly and despised of the earth. They are the opposite of the “proud” (see Ps 138:6). Here there is a deliberate contrast between “lowly” and “on high.”

[5:11]  ⁷ tn The meaning of the word is “to be dark, dirty”; therefore, it refers to the ash-sprinkled head of the mourner (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 54). The custom was to darken one’s face in sorrow (see Job 2:12; Ps 35:14; 38:7).

[5:11]  ⁸ tn The perfect verb may be translated “be set on high; be raised up.” E. Dhorme (Job, 64) notes that the perfect is parallel to the infinitive of the first colon, and so he renders it in the same way as the infinitive, comparing the construction to that of 28:25.

[5:15]  ⁹ tn The verb, the Hiphil preterite of יָשַׁע (yasha’, “and he saves”) indicates that by frustrating the plans of the wicked God saves the poor. So the vav (ו) consecutive shows the result in the sequence of the verses.

[5:15]  ¹⁰ tn The juxtaposition of “from the sword from their mouth” poses translation difficulties. Some mss do not have the preposition on “their mouth,” but render the expression as a construct: “from the sword of their mouth.” This would mean their tongue, and by metonymy, what they say. The expression “from their mouth” corresponds well with “from the hand” in the next colon. And as E. Dhorme (Job, 67) notes, what is missing is a parallel in the first part with “the poor” in the second. So he follows Cappel in repointing “from the sword” as a Hophal participle, מֹחֳרָב (mokhorav), meaning “the ruined.” If a change is required, this has the benefit of only changing the pointing. The difficulty with this is that the word “desolate, ruined” is not used for people, but only to cities, lands, or mountains. The sense of the verse can be supported from the present pointing: “from the sword [which comes] from their mouth”; the second phrase could also be in apposition, meaning, “from the sword, i.e., from their mouth.”

[5:15]  ¹¹ tn If the word “poor” is to do double duty, i.e., serving as the object of the verb “saves” in the first colon as well as the second, then the conjunction should be explanatory.

[5:16]  ¹² tn Other translations render this “injustice” (NIV, NRSV, CEV) or “unrighteousness” (NASB).

[5:16]  ¹³ tn The verse summarizes the result of God’s intervention in human affairs, according to Eliphaz’ idea that even-handed justice prevails. Ps 107:42 parallels v. 16b.

[21:26]  ¹⁴ tn Elsewhere in the Bible the turban is worn by priests (Exod 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6; 39:28, 31; Lev 8:9; 16:4), but here a royal crown is in view.

[21:26]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “This not this.”

[21:26]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the high one.”

[21:27]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I will make it.” The threefold repetition of the noun “ruin” is for emphasis and draws attention to the degree of ruin that would take place. See IBHS 233 §12.5a and GKC 431-32 §133.k. The pronominal suffix (translated “it”) on the verb “make” is feminine in Hebrew. The probable antecedent is the “turban/crown” (both nouns are feminine in form) mentioned in verse 26. The point is that the king’s royal splendor would be completely devastated as judgment overtook his realm and brought his reign to a violent end.

[21:27]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Also this, he was not, until the coming of the one to whom the judgment belongs and I have given it.” The Hebrew text, as it stands, is grammatically difficult. The pronoun “this” is feminine, while the following negated verb (“was not”) is masculine. Some emend the verb to a feminine form (see BHS). In this case the statement refers to the destiny of the king’s turban/crown (symbolizing his reign). See the previous note. The preposition translated “when” normally means “until,” but here it seems to refer to the period during which the preceding situation is realized, rather than its termination point. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:19, 21. The second part of the statement, though awkward, probably refers to the arrival of the Babylonian king, to whom the Lord had assigned the task of judgment (see 23:24). Or the verse may read “A total ruin I will make, even this. It will not be until the one comes to whom is (the task of) judgment and I have assigned it.”

[1:52]  ¹⁹ tn Or “rulers.”

[1:52]  ²⁰ tn Or “those of humble position”

[1:53]  ²¹ sn Good things refers not merely to material blessings, but blessings that come from knowing God.

[1:53]  ²² sn Another fundamental contrast of Luke’s is between the hungry and the rich (Luke 6:20-26).

[2:5]  ²³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.