Lukas 1:51

1:51 He has demonstrated power ¹  with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance ²  of their hearts.

Lukas 18:14

18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified ³  rather than the Pharisee. ⁴  For everyone who exalts ⁵  himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Lukas 18:1

Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow

18:1 Then ⁶  Jesus ⁷  told them a parable to show them they should always ⁸  pray and not lose heart. ⁹ 

1 Samuel 15:17

15:17 Samuel said, “Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose ¹⁰  you as king over Israel.

Ayub 22:29

22:29 When people are brought low ¹¹  and you say

‘Lift them up!’ ¹² 

then he will save the downcast; ¹³ 

Ayub 40:10-12

40:10 Adorn yourself, then, with majesty and excellency,

and clothe yourself with glory and honor!

40:11 Scatter abroad ¹⁴  the abundance ¹⁵  of your anger.

Look at every proud man ¹⁶  and bring him low;

40:12 Look at every proud man and abase him;

crush the wicked on the spot! ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 18:27

18:27 For you deliver oppressed ¹⁸  people,

but you bring down those who have a proud look. ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 138:6

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

and recognizes the proud from far away.

Amsal 15:33

15:33 The fear of the Lord provides wise instruction, ²⁰ 

and before honor comes humility. ²¹ 

Amsal 18:12

18:12 Before destruction the heart ²²  of a person is proud,

but humility comes ²³  before honor. ²⁴ 

Amsal 29:23

29:23 A person’s pride ²⁵  will bring him low, ²⁶ 

but one who has a lowly spirit ²⁷  will gain honor.

Yesaya 2:11

2:11 Proud men will be brought low,

arrogant men will be humiliated; ²⁸ 

the Lord alone will be exalted ²⁹ 

in that day.

Yesaya 2:17

2:17 Proud men will be humiliated,

arrogant men will be brought low; ³⁰ 

the Lord alone will be exalted ³¹ 

in that day.

Yesaya 57:15

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

the one who rules ³²  forever, whose name is holy:

“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,

but also with the discouraged and humiliated, ³³ 

in order to cheer up the humiliated

and to encourage the discouraged. ³⁴ 

Matius 23:12

23:12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Yakobus 4:6

4:6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” ³⁵ 

Yakobus 4:1

Passions and Pride

4:1 Where do the conflicts and where ³⁶  do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, ³⁷  from your passions that battle inside you? ³⁸ 

Pengkhotbah 5:5

5:5 It is better for you not to vow

than to vow and not pay it. ³⁹ 

[1:51]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.

[18:14]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:14]  ⁵ sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.

[18:1]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[18:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ⁸ tn Or “should pray at all times” (L&N 67.88).

[18:1]  ⁹ sn This is one of the few parables that comes with an explanation at the start: …they should always pray and not lose heart. It is part of Luke’s goal in encouraging Theophilus (1:4).

[15:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “anointed.”

[22:29]  ¹¹ tn There is no expressed subject here, and so the verb is taken as a passive voice again.

[22:29]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Or “humble”; Heb “the lowly of eyes.”

[40:11]  ¹⁴ tn The verb was used for scattering lightning (Job 37:11). God is challenging Job to unleash his power and judge wickedness in the world.

[40:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the overflowings.”

[40:11]  ¹⁶ tn The word was just used in the positive sense of excellence or majesty; now the exalted nature of the person refers to self-exaltation, or pride.

[40:12]  ¹⁷ tn The expression translated “on the spot” is the prepositional phrase תַּחְתָּם (takhtam, “under them”). “Under them” means in their place. But it can also mean “where someone stands, on the spot” (see Exod 16:29; Jos 6:5; Judg 7:21, etc.).

[18:27]  ¹⁸ tn Or perhaps, “humble” (note the contrast with those who are proud).

[18:27]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “but proud eyes you bring low.” 2 Sam 22:28 reads, “your eyes [are] upon the proud, [whom] you bring low.”

[15:33]  ²⁰ tn Heb “[is] instruction of wisdom” (KJV and NASB similar). The noun translated “wisdom” is an attributive genitive: “wise instruction.”

[15:33]  sn The idea of the first line is similar to Prov 1:7 and 9:10. Here it may mean that the fear of the Lord results from the discipline of wisdom, just as easily as it may mean that the fear of the Lord leads to the discipline of wisdom. The second reading harmonizes with the theme in the book that the fear of the Lord is the starting point.

[15:33]  ²¹ 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.

[18:12]  ²² sn The term “heart” is a metonymy of subject, referring to the seat of the spiritual and intellectual capacities – the mind, the will, the motivations and intentions. Proud ambitions and intentions will lead to a fall.

[18:12]  ²³ tn Heb “[is] before honor”; cf. CEV “humility leads to honor.”

[18:12]  ²⁴ sn The way to honor is through humility (e.g., Prov 11:2; 15:33; 16:18). The humility and exaltation of Jesus provides the classic example (Phil 2:1-10).

[29:23]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn Heb “low in spirit”; KJV “humble in spirit.” This refers to an attitude of humility.

[29:23]  sn The Hebrew word translated “lowly” forms an implied comparison: To be humble is like being low, base, earthbound; whereas pride is often compared to being high, lofty – at least in one’s own eyes.

[2:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and the eyes of the pride of men will be brought low, and the arrogance of men will be brought down.” The repetition of the verbs שָׁפַל (shafal) and שָׁחָח (shakhakh) from v. 9 draws attention to the appropriate nature of the judgment. Those proud men who “bow low” before idols will be forced to “bow low” before God when he judges their sin.

[2:11]  ²⁹ tn Or “elevated”; CEV “honored.”

[2:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and the pride of men will be brought down, and the arrogance of men will be brought low.” As in v. 11, the repetition of the verbs שָׁפַל (shafal) and שָׁחָח (shakhakh) from v. 9 draws attention to the appropriate nature of the judgment. Those proud men who “bow low” before idols will be forced to “bow low” before God when he judges their sin.

[2:17]  ³¹ tn Or “elevated”; NCV “praised”; CEV “honored.”

[57:15]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”

[4:6]  ³⁵ sn A quotation from Prov 3:34.

[4:1]  ³⁶ tn The word “where” is repeated in Greek for emphasis.

[4:1]  ³⁷ tn Grk “from here.”

[4:1]  ³⁸ tn Grk “in your members [i.e., parts of the body].”

[5:5]  ³⁹ tn The word “it” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.