1 Samuel 2:8

2:8 He lifts the weak ¹  from the dust;

he raises ²  the poor from the ash heap

to seat them with princes

and to bestow on them an honored position. ³ 

The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord,

and he has placed the world on them.

Ayub 38:5

38:5 Who set its measurements – if ⁴  you know –

or who stretched a measuring line across it?

¹ tn Or “lowly”; Heb “insignificant.”

² tn The imperfect verbal form, which is parallel to the participle in the preceding line, is best understood here as indicating what typically happens.

³ tn Heb “a seat of honor.”

⁴ tn The particle כּ (ki) is taken here for a conditional clause, “if you know” (see GKC 498 §159.dd). Others take it as “surely” with a biting irony.