Mazmur 131:1

Psalm 131 ¹ 

A song of ascents, ²  by David.

131:1 O Lord, my heart is not proud,

nor do I have a haughty look. ³ 

I do not have great aspirations,

or concern myself with things that are beyond me. ⁴ 

Amsal 30:13

30:13 There is a generation whose eyes are so lofty, ⁵ 

and whose eyelids are lifted up disdainfully. ⁶ 

Daniel 4:31

4:31 While these words were still on the king’s lips, ⁷  a voice came down from heaven: “It is hereby announced to you, ⁸  King Nebuchadnezzar, that your kingdom has been removed from you!

Zefanya 3:11

3:11 In that day you ⁹  will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me, ¹⁰ 

for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast, ¹¹ 

and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill.

[131:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 131. The psalmist affirms his humble dependence on the Lord and urges Israel to place its trust in God.

[131:1]  ² sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[131:1]  ³ tn Heb “and my eyes are not lifted up.”

[131:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “I do not walk in great things, and in things too marvelous for me.”

[30:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “how high are its eyes!” This is a use of the interrogative pronoun in exclamatory sentences (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 25, §127).

[30:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “its eyelids are lifted up,” a gesture indicating arrogance and contempt or disdain for others. To make this clear, the present translation supplies the adverb “disdainfully” at the end of the verse.

[30:13]  sn The verbs “to be high” (translated “are…lofty”) and “to be lifted up” depict arrogance and disdain for others. The emphasis on the eyes and eyelids (parasynonyms in poetry) is employed because the glance, the look, is the immediate evidence of contempt for others (e.g., also 6:17 and Ps 131:1).

[4:31]  ⁷ tn Aram “in the mouth of the king.”

[4:31]  ⁸ tn Aram “to you they say.”

[3:11]  ⁹ sn The second person verbs and pronouns are feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed here.

[3:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “In that day you not be ashamed because of all your actions, [in] which you rebelled against me.”

[3:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the arrogant ones of your pride.”