Mazmur 30:6-7

30:6 In my self-confidence I said,

“I will never be upended.” ¹ 

30:7 O Lord, in your good favor you made me secure. ² 

Then you rejected me ³  and I was terrified.

Mazmur 73:18-20

73:18 Surely ⁴  you put them in slippery places;

you bring them down ⁵  to ruin.

73:19 How desolate they become in a mere moment!

Terrifying judgments make their demise complete! ⁶ 

73:20 They are like a dream after one wakes up. ⁷ 

O Lord, when you awake ⁸  you will despise them. ⁹ 

Mazmur 147:6

147:6 The Lord lifts up the oppressed,

but knocks ¹⁰  the wicked to the ground.

Mazmur 147:1

Psalm 147 ¹¹ 

147:1 Praise the Lord,

for it is good to sing praises to our God!

Yes, ¹²  praise is pleasant and appropriate!

1 Samuel 2:7-8

2:7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy;

he humbles and he exalts.

2:8 He lifts the weak ¹³  from the dust;

he raises ¹⁴  the poor from the ash heap

to seat them with princes

and to bestow on them an honored position. ¹⁵ 

The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord,

and he has placed the world on them.

1 Samuel 2:2

2:2 No one is holy ¹⁶  like the Lord!

There is no one other than you!

There is no rock ¹⁷  like our God!

1 Samuel 25:8

25:8 Ask your own servants; they can tell you! May my servants find favor in your sight, for we have come ¹⁸  at the time of a holiday. Please provide us – your servants ¹⁹  and your son David – with whatever you can spare.” ²⁰ 

1 Samuel 25:2

David Marries Abigail the Widow of Nabal

25:2 There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy; ²¹  he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

Kolose 4:9

4:9 I sent him ²²  with Onesimus, the faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. ²³  They will tell ²⁴  you about everything here.

[30:6]  ¹ sn In my self-confidence I said… Here the psalmist begins to fill in the background of the crisis referred to in the earlier verses. He had been arrogant and self-confident, so the Lord withdrew his protection and allowed trouble to invade his life (vv. 8-11).

[30:7]  ² tn Heb “in your good favor you caused to stand for my mountain strength.” Apparently this means “you established strength for my mountain” (“mountain” in this case representing his rule, which would be centered on Mt. Zion) or “you established strength as my mountain” (“mountain” in this case being a metaphor for security).

[30:7]  ³ tn Heb “you hid your face.” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or, as here, carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Ps 88:14).

[73:18]  ⁴ tn The use of the Hebrew term אַךְ (’akh, “surely”) here literarily counteracts its use in v. 13. The repetition draws attention to the contrast between the two statements, the first of which expresses the psalmist’s earlier despair and the second his newly discovered confidence.

[73:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “cause them to fall.”

[73:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “they come to an end, they are finished, from terrors.”

[73:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “like a dream from awakening.” They lack any real substance; their prosperity will last for only a brief time.

[73:20]  ⁸ sn When you awake. The psalmist compares God’s inactivity to sleep and the time of God’s judgment to his awakening from sleep.

[73:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “you will despise their form.” The Hebrew term צֶלֶם (tselem, “form; image”) also suggests their short-lived nature. Rather than having real substance, they are like the mere images that populate one’s dreams. Note the similar use of the term in Ps 39:6.

[147:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “brings down.”

[147:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 147. The psalmist praises the Lord for he is the sovereign ruler of the world who cares for the needs of his covenant people.

[147:1]  ¹² tn Or “for.”

[2:8]  ¹³ tn Or “lowly”; Heb “insignificant.”

[2:8]  ¹⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form, which is parallel to the participle in the preceding line, is best understood here as indicating what typically happens.

[2:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a seat of honor.”

[2:2]  ¹⁶ sn In this context God’s holiness refers primarily to his sovereignty and incomparability. He is unique and distinct from all other so-called gods.

[2:2]  ¹⁷ tn The LXX has “and there is none righteous like our God.” The Hebrew term translated “rock” refers to a rocky cliff where one can seek refuge from enemies. Here the metaphor depicts God as a protector of his people. Cf. TEV “no protector like our God”; CEV “We’re safer with you than on a high mountain.”

[25:8]  ¹⁸ tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading בָּאנוּ (ba’nu, “we have come”) rather than the MT’s בָּנוּ (banu, “we have built”).

[25:8]  ¹⁹ tn This refers to the ten servants sent by David.

[25:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “whatever your hand will find.”

[25:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “great.”

[4:9]  ²² tn The Greek sentence continues v. 9 with the phrase “with Onesimus,” but this is awkward in English, so the verb “I sent” was inserted and a new sentence started at the beginning of v. 9 in the translation.

[4:9]  ²³ tn Grk “is of you.”

[4:9]  ²⁴ tn Grk “will make known to you.” This has been simplified in the translation to “will tell.”