⁷ But God is the judge, putting down one, and lifting up another.

⁶ And let the heavens make clear his righteousness; for God himself is the judge. (Selah.)

²¹ By him times and years are changed: by him kings are taken away and kings are lifted up: he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those whose minds are awake:

²² He is the unveiler of deep and secret things: he has knowledge of what is in the dark, and the light has its living-place with him.

¹⁵ But when it was the good pleasure of God, by whom I was marked out even from my mother's body, through his grace,

¹⁶ You did not take me for yourselves, but I took you for myself; and I gave you the work of going about and producing fruit which will be for ever; so that whatever request you make to the Father in my name he may give it to you.

⁵² He has put down kings from their seats, lifting up on high the men of low degree.

¹⁸ As for you, O King, the Most High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar, your father, the kingdom and great power and glory and honour:

³⁷ You, O King, king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory,

⁴ And give them orders to say to their masters, This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: Say to your masters,

⁵ I have made the earth, and man and beast on the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I will give it to anyone at my pleasure.

⁶ And now I have given all these lands into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant; and I have given the beasts of the field to him for his use.

⁷ And all the nations will be servants to him and to his son and to his son's son, till the time comes for his land to be overcome: and then a number of nations and great kings will take it for their use.

⁸ And it will come about, that if any nation does not become a servant to this same Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and does not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, then I will send punishment on that nation, says the Lord, by the sword and need of food and by disease, till I have given them into his hands.

⁶ The Lord gives help to the poor in spirit; but he sends sinners down in shame.

⁷ He takes the poor man out of the dust, lifting him up from his low position;

⁸ To give him a place among the rulers, even with the rulers of his people.

¹¹ So that men will say, Truly there is a reward for righteousness; truly there is a God who is judge on the earth.

²¹ And David said to Michal, I was dancing before the Lord, who put me over your father and all his sons, to make me a ruler over the people of the Lord, over his people Israel: and I will go on playing before the Lord;

² In the past when Saul was king over us, it was you who went at the head of Israel when they went out or came in: and the Lord said to you, You are to be the keeper of my people Israel and their ruler.

¹⁷ Then Abner had a talk with the chief men of Israel, saying, In the past it was your desire to make David your king: so now, do it:

¹⁸ For the Lord has said of David, By the hand of my servant David I will make my people Israel safe from the Philistines, and from all who are against them.

¹ And the Lord said to Samuel, How long will you go on sorrowing for Saul, seeing that I have put him from his place as king over Israel? Take oil in your vessel and go; I will send you to Jesse, the Beth-lehemite: for I have got a king for myself among his sons.

²⁸ And Samuel said to him, The Lord has taken away the kingdom of Israel from you this day by force, and has given it to a neighbour of yours who is better than you.

²³ For to go against his orders is like the sin of those who make use of secret arts, and pride is like giving worship to images. Because you have put away from you the word of the Lord, he has put you from your place as king.

⁷ The Lord gives wealth and takes a man's goods from him: crushing men down and again lifting them up;

⁸ Lifting the poor out of the dust, and him who is in need out of the lowest place, to give them their place among rulers, and for their heritage the seat of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's and he has made them the base of the world.

¹⁵ For, if by their putting away, the rest of men have been made friends with God, what will their coming back again be, but life from the dead?