Mazmur 18:26-28

18:26 You prove to be reliable ¹  to one who is blameless,

but you prove to be deceptive ²  to one who is perverse. ³ 

18:27 For you deliver oppressed ⁴  people,

but you bring down those who have a proud look. ⁵ 

18:28 Indeed, ⁶  you are my lamp, Lord. ⁷ 

My God ⁸  illuminates the darkness around me. ⁹ 

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.” ¹⁰ 

Yakobus 4:1

Passions and Pride

4:1 Where do the conflicts and where ¹¹  do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, ¹²  from your passions that battle inside you? ¹³ 

1 Petrus 5:5

5:5 In the same way, you who are younger, ¹⁴  be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. ¹⁵ 

[18:26]  ¹ tn Or “blameless.”

[18:26]  ² tn The Hebrew verb פָתַל (patal) is used in only three other texts. In Gen 30:8 it means literally “to wrestle,” or “to twist.” In Job 5:13 it refers to devious individuals, and in Prov 8:8 to deceptive words.

[18:26]  ³ tn The adjective עִקֵּשׁ (’iqqesh) has the basic nuance “twisted, crooked,” and by extension refers to someone or something that is morally perverse. It appears frequently in Proverbs, where it is used of evil people (22:5), speech (8:8; 19:1), thoughts (11:20; 17:20), and life styles (2:15; 28:6). A righteous king opposes such people (Ps 101:4).

[18:26]  sn Verses 25-26 affirm God’s justice. He responds to people in accordance with their moral character. His response mirrors their actions. The faithful and blameless find God to be loyal and reliable in his dealings with them. But deceivers discover he is able and willing to use deceit to destroy them. For a more extensive discussion of the theme of divine deception in the OT, see R. B. Chisholm, “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 11-28.

[18:27]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps, “humble” (note the contrast with those who are proud).

[18:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “but proud eyes you bring low.” 2 Sam 22:28 reads, “your eyes [are] upon the proud, [whom] you bring low.”

[18:28]  ⁶ tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki)is asseverative here.

[18:28]  ⁷ tn Ps 18:28 reads literally, “you light my lamp, Lord.” 2 Sam 22:29 has, “you are my lamp, Lord.” The Ps 18 reading may preserve two variants, נֵרִי (neriy, “my lamp”) and אוֹרִי (’oriy, “my light”), cf. Ps 27:1. The verb תָּאִיר (ta’ir, “you light”) in Ps 18:28 would, in this case, be a corruption of the latter. See F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry (SBLDS), 150, n. 64. The metaphor, which likens the Lord to a lamp or light, pictures him as the psalmist’s source of life. For other examples of “lamp” used in this way, see Job 18:6; 21:17; Prov 13:9; 20:20; 24:20. For other examples of “light” as a symbol for life, see Job 3:20; 33:30; Ps 56:13.

[18:28]  ⁸ tn 2 Sam 22:29 repeats the name “Lord.”

[18:28]  ⁹ tn Heb “my darkness.”

[4:6]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Prov 3:34.

[4:1]  ¹¹ tn The word “where” is repeated in Greek for emphasis.

[4:1]  ¹² tn Grk “from here.”

[4:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “in your members [i.e., parts of the body].”

[5:5]  ¹⁴ sn In this context younger and elder are terms that combine two meanings: relative age and an official structure of leadership in the church. As in v. 1, elder here denotes those who exercise spiritual leadership, who for the most part are older in years. Likewise younger means the rest of the community, who for the most part are younger in age, who are urged to accept the authority of their leaders.

[5:5]  ¹⁵ sn A quotation from Prov 3:34 (cf. Jas 4:6).