Ulangan 28:43

28:43 The foreigners ¹  who reside among you will become higher and higher over you and you will become lower and lower.

Ulangan 28:1

The Covenant Blessings

28:1 “If you indeed ²  obey the Lord your God and are careful to observe all his commandments I am giving ³  you today, the Lord your God will elevate you above all the nations of the earth.

1 Samuel 2:7

2:7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy;

he humbles and he exalts.

Ayub 40:12

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

crush the wicked on the spot! ⁴ 

Mazmur 106:41-43

106:41 He handed them over to ⁵  the nations,

and those who hated them ruled over them.

106:42 Their enemies oppressed them;

they were subject to their authority. ⁶ 

106:43 Many times he delivered ⁷  them,

but they had a rebellious attitude, ⁸ 

and degraded themselves ⁹  by their sin.

Amsal 29:23

29:23 A person’s pride ¹⁰  will bring him low, ¹¹ 

but one who has a lowly spirit ¹²  will gain honor.

[28:43]  ¹ tn Heb “the foreigner.” This is a collective singular and has therefore been translated as plural; this includes the pronouns in the following verse, which are also singular in the Hebrew text.

[28:1]  ² tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “indeed.”

[28:1]  ³ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today” (likewise in v. 15).

[40:12]  ⁴ 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.).

[106:41]  ⁵ tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.”

[106:42]  ⁶ tn Heb “they were subdued under their hand.”

[106:43]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is either preterite or imperfect, in which case it is customary, describing repeated action in past time (“he would deliver”).

[106:43]  ⁸ tn Heb “but they rebelled in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite or imperfect, in which case it is customary, describing repeated action in past time (“they would have a rebellious attitude”).

[106:43]  ⁹ tn Heb “they sank down.” The Hebrew verb מָכַךְ (makhakh, “to lower; to sink”) occurs only here in the Qal.

[29:23]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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.