I said to the arrogant, “Don’t boast!” I said to the wicked, “Don’t lift up the horn.
Don’t lift up your horn on high. Don’t speak with a stiff neck.”
For neither from the east, nor from the west, nor yet from the south, comes exaltation.
Parallel Translations
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I said to the arrogant, “Don’t boast!” I said to the wicked, “Don’t lift up the horn.
Don’t lift up your horn on high. Don’t speak with a stiff neck.”
For neither from the east, nor from the west, nor yet from the south, comes exaltation.
-
I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.
For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
Show all 3 translations
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(75-5) I say unto the arrogant: 'Deal not arrogantly'; and to the wicked: 'Lift not up the horn.'
(75-6) Lift not up your horn on high; speak not insolence with a haughty neck.
(75-7) For neither from the east, nor from the west, nor yet from the wilderness, cometh lifting up.
Cross-references (16)
- Zechariah 1:21 (v4) Then I asked, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head; but…
- Psalms 3:3 (v6) But you, Yahweh, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
- Acts 7:51 (v5) “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so you do.
- 2 Chronicles 30:8 (v5) Now don’t be stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to Yahweh, and enter into his sanctuary, which he has sanctified…
- Isaiah 48:4 (v5) Because I knew that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your brow bronze;
Show all 16 cross-references
- Deuteronomy 31:27 (v5) For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. Behold, while I am yet alive with you today, you have been rebellious against Yahweh. How…
- Proverbs 1:22 (v4) “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? How long will mockers delight themselves in mockery, and fools hate knowledge?
- Proverbs 8:5 (v4) You simple, understand prudence! You fools, be of an understanding heart!
- Ezekiel 2:4 (v5) The children are impudent and stiff-hearted. I am sending you to them, and you shall tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says.’
- Exodus 32:9 (v5) Yahweh said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked people.
- Psalms 82:2-8 (v4) “How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?” “Defend the weak, the poor, and the fatherless. Maintain the rights…
- Psalms 89:17 (v4) For you are the glory of their strength. In your favor, our horn will be exalted.
- Psalms 94:8 (v4) Consider, you senseless among the people; you fools, when will you be wise?
- Psalms 148:14 (v4) He has lifted up the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints, even of the children of Israel, a people near to him. Praise Yah!
- Proverbs 9:6 (v4) Leave your simple ways, and live. Walk in the way of understanding.”
- Daniel 7:20-21 (v4) and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three fell, even that horn that had…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv4, 6 4. I said to the fools, Act not foolishly.…
4. I said to the fools, Act not foolishly. After he has set the office of God full in his own view and in the view of the faithful, he now triumphs over all the ungodly, whom he impeaches of madness and blind rage, the effect of their despising God, which leads them to indulge to excess in pride and self-gloriation. This holy boasting to which he gives utterance depends upon the judgment, which in the name of God he denounced to be at hand; for when the people of God expect that he is coming to execute judgment, and are persuaded that he will not long delay his coming, they glory even in the midst of their oppressions. The madness of the wicked may boil over and swell with rage, and pour forth floods to overwhelm them; but it is enough for them to know that their life is protected by the power of God, who can with the most perfect ease humble all pride, and restrain the most daring and presumptuous attempts. The faithful here deride and despise whatever the wicked plot and conspire to execute, and bid them desist from their madness; and in calling upon them to do this, they intimate that they are making all this stir and commotion in vain, resembling madmen, who are drawn hither and thither by their own distempered imaginations. It is to be observed, that the Psalmist represents pride as the cause or mother of all rash and audacious enterprises. The reason why men rush with such recklessness upon unlawful projects most certainly is, that blinded by pride, they form an undue and exaggerated estimate of their own power. This being a malady which is not easily eradicated from the hearts of men, the admonition, Lift not up your horn on high is repeated once and again. They are next enjoined not to speak with a fat or a stiff neck; by which is meant that they should not speak harshly and injuriously; for it is usual with proud persons to erect the neck and raise the head when they pour forth their menaces. Others translate the words, Speak not stiffly with your neck; but the other translation is the more correct.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v5 The Prophet warneth the wicked that they would not…
The Prophet warneth the wicked that they would not set themselves against God’s people, seeing that God at his time destroyeth them that rule wickedly.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Psa 75:4 I said unto the fools, Deal not…
Psa 75:4 I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
Ver. 4. I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly] Boast not yourselves so proudly and petulantly, but submit to God’s decree, and my government; how much more to Christ’s!
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Lift not up the horn] Metaphora a tauris cornupetis.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv4–6 I said, with authority and command; I charged them.
I said, with authority and command; I charged them.
The fools, i.e. the wicked, as that is explained in the next clause.
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Deal not foolishly; desist from your impious and injurious practices, which shall not now go unpunished, as they have done.
Lift not up the horn; do not carry yourselves either arrogantly, boasting of your own strength, or scornfully and maliciously towards me or others of God’s people.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v6 In these verses we have two great doctrines laid…
In these verses we have two great doctrines laid down and two good inferences drawn from them, for the confirmation of what he had before said.
I. Here are two great truths laid down concerning God's government of the world, which we ought to mix faith with, both pertinent to the occasion: -
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1. That from God alone kings receive their power (Psa 75:6, Psa 75:7), and therefore to God alone David would give the praise of his advancement; having his power from God he would use it for him, and therefore those were fools that lifted up the horn against him. We see strange revolutions in states and kingdoms, and are surprised at the sudden disgrace of some and elevation of others; we are all full of such changes, when they happen; but here we are directed to look at the author of them, and are taught where the original of power is, and whence promotion comes. Whence comes preferment to kingdoms, to the sovereignty of them? And whence come preferments in kingdoms, to places of power and trust in them? The former depends not upon the will of the people, nor the latter on the will of the prince, but both on the will of God, who has all hearts in his hands; to him therefore those must look who are in pursuit of preferment, and then they begin aright. We are here told, (1.) Negatively, which way we are not to look for the fountain of power: Promotion comes not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert, that is, neither from the desert on the north of Jerusalem nor from that on the south; so that the fair gale of preferment is not to be expected to blow from any point of the compass, but only from above, directly thence. Men cannot gain promotion either by the wisdom or wealth of the children of the east, nor by the numerous forces of the isles of the Gentiles, that lay westward, nor those of Egypt or Arabia, that lay south; no concurring smiles of second causes will raise men to preferment without the first cause. The learned bishop Lloyd (Serm. in loc.) gives this gloss upon it: "All men took the original of power to be from heaven, but from whom there many knew not; the eastern nations, who were generally given to astrology, took it to come from their stars, especially the sun, their god. No, says David, it comes neither from the east nor from the west, neither from the rising nor from the setting of such a planet, or such a constellation, nor from the south, nor from the exaltation of the sun or any star in the mid-heaven." He mentions not the north, because none supposed it to come thence; or because the same word that signifies the north signifies the secret place, and from the secret of God's counsel it does come, or from the oracle in Zion, which lay on the north side of Jerusalem. Note, No wind is so good as to blow promotion, but as he directs who has the winds in his fists. (2.) Positively: God is the judge, the governor or umpire. When parties contend for the prize, he puts down one and sets up another as he sees fit, so as to serve his own purposes and bring to pass his own counsels. Herein he acts by prerogative, and is not accountable to us for any of these matters; nor is it any damage, danger, or disgrace that he, who is infinitely wise, holy, and good, has an arbitrary and despotic power to set up and put down whom, and when, and how he pleases. This is a good reason why magistrates should rule for God as those that must give account to him, because it is by him that kings reign.
2. That from God alone all must receive their doom (Psa 75:8): In the hand of the Lord there is a cup, which he puts into the hands of the children of men, a cup of providence, mixed up (as he thinks fit) of many ingredients, a cup of affliction. The sufferings of Christ are called a cup, Mat 20:22; Joh 18:11. The judgments of God upon sinners are the cup of the Lord's right hand, Hab 2:16. The wine is red, denoting the wrath of God, which is infused into the judgments executed on sinners, and is the wormwood and the gall in the affliction and the misery. It is read as fire, red as blood, for it burns, it kills. It is full of mixture, prepared in wisdom, so as to answer the end. There are mixtures of mercy and grace in the cup of affliction when it is put into the hands of God's own people, mixtures of the curse when it is put into the hands of the wicked; it is wine mingled with gall. These vials, (1.) Are poured out upon all; see Rev 15:7; Rev 16:1; where we read of the angels pouring out the vials of God's wrath upon the earth. Some drops of this wrath may light on good people; when God's judgments are abroad, they have their share in common calamities; but, (2.) The dregs of the cup are reserved for the wicked. The calamity itself is but the vehicle into which the wrath and curse is infused, the top of which has little of the infusion; but the sediment is pure wrath, and that shall fall to the share of sinners; they have the dregs of the cup now in the terrors of conscience, and hereafter in the torments of hell. They shall wring them out, that not a drop of the wrath may be left behind, and they shall drink them, for the curse shall enter into their bowels like water and like oil into their bones. The cup of the Lord's indignation will be to them a cup of trembling, everlasting trembling, Rev 14:10. The wicked man's cup, while he prospers in the world, is full of mixture, but the worst is at the bottom. The wicked are reserved unto the day of judgment.
II. Here are two good practical inferences drawn from these great truths, and they are the same purposes of duty that he began the psalm with. This being so, 1. He will praise God, and give him glory, for the power to which he has advanced him (Psa 75:9): I will declare for ever that which thy wondrous works declare, Psa 75:1. He will praise God for his elevation, not only at first, while the mercy was fresh, but for ever, so long as he lives. The exaltation of the Son of David will be the subject of the saints' everlasting praises. He will give glory to God, not only as his God, but as the God of Jacob, knowing it was for Jacob his servant's sake, and because he loved his people Israel, that he made him king over them. 2. He will use the power with which he is entrusted for the great ends for which it was put into his hands, Psa 75:10, as before, Psa 75:2, Psa 75:4. According to the duty of the higher powers, (1.) He resolves to be a terror to evildoers, to humble their pride and break their power: "Though not all the heads, yet all the horns, of the wicked will I cut off, with which they push their poor neighbours; I will disable them to do mischief." Thus God promises to raise up carpenters who should fray the horns of the Gentiles that had scattered Judah and Israel, Zac 1:18-21. (2.) He resolves to be a protection and praise to those that do well: The horns of the righteous shall be exalted; they shall be preferred and be put into places of power; and those that are good, and have hearts to do good, shall not want ability and opportunity for it. This agrees with David's resolutions, Psa 101:3, etc. Herein David was a type of Christ, who with the breath of his mouth shall slay the wicked, but shall exalt with honour the horn of the righteous, Psa 112:9.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv4–6 I said unto the fools,.... To the vain gloriosos,…
I said unto the fools,.... To the vain gloriosos, proud boasters, mockers, and scoffers at the day of judgment, and burning of the world:
deal not foolishly; by glorying in themselves, boasting of their riches, and trusting in them; singing a requiem to themselves on account of their abundance, and by putting away the evil day far from them:
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and to the wicked, lift not up the horn; of power, grandeur, and wealth, and use it to the injury of others; or be so elated with it as to look with disdain on others; or imagine they shall always continue in this exalted state, as antichrist the horned beast does, Rev 18:7, the allusion is to horned beasts, particularly harts, which lift up their heads and horns in great pride (p): the phrase signifies to behave proudly and haughtily.
(p) Vid. "Suidam in voce"
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv4–5 I said - I charged them. Deal not -…
I said - I charged them. Deal not - Desist from your practices. Lift not up - Do not carry yourselves scornfully and maliciously.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Verse 4. I said unto the fools] I have…
Verse 4. I said unto the fools] I have given the idolatrous Chaldeans sufficient warning to abandon their idols, and worship the true God; but they would not. I have also charged the wicked, to whom for a season I have delivered you because of your transgressions, not to lift up their horn-not to use their power to oppress and destroy. They have, notwithstanding, abused their power in the persecutions with which they have afflicted you. For all these things they shall shortly be brought to an awful account. On the term horn, See Clarke on Lu 1:69.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv4, 6 Psa 75:4-5. I said — With authority and command;…
Psa 75:4-5. I said — With authority and command; unto the fools — The wicked: I charged them; Deal not foolishly — Desist from your impious and injurious practices, which shall not now go unpunished as they have done. Lift not up your horn, &c. — Do not carry yourselves with pride and arrogance, boasting of your own strength; or with scorn and contempt toward me or any others of God’s people. It is a metaphor taken from untamed oxen, which will not bow their heads to receive the yoke, but lift up their heads and horns to avoid it. Or, למרום, lammarom, rendered, on high, means, against the high one, that is, against God, who is mentioned under this same title, Psa 56:2; Isa 57:15. Speak not —
Against me and my government; with a stiff neck — With pride and contempt of my person, and with rebellion against God’s will declared concerning my advancement, of which you are not ignorant: see 2Sa 3:17-18.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv4–6 I said unto the fools - To the wicked…
I said unto the fools - To the wicked people in rebellion. Folly and wickedness in the Bible are synonymous terms, as they are identical in fact. See the notes at Psa 14:1.
Deal not foolishly - Act not foolishly; carry not out your wicked plans. Do not pursue your schemes of wickedness and folly, for they cannot be successful, and they will only tend to involve you in ruin.
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And to the wicked - The wicked people engaged in rebellion - either against a lawful human government, or against God.
Lift not up the horn - The horn is a symbol of strength. Compare Job 16:15; Dan 7:7-8, Dan 7:11, Dan 7:21; Dan 8:5, Dan 8:8-9, Dan 8:21. This is to be understood as the language of the person represented as speaking in the psalm - whether a prince, or whether God himself. It is counsel addressed to the wicked, that they should not attempt to put forth their strength in the accomplishment of their evil purposes. The reason given for this is stated in Psa 75:6, namely, that success does not depend on chance, or on human power, but must come from God.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv4, 6 4. I said unto the fools—The king still speaks…
4. I said unto the fools—The king still speaks as God’s vicar. I said to the haughty, who by reason of their successes had grown insolent.
Deal not foolishly—Scornfully, boastfully.
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Lift not up the horn—Toss not high your horn defiantly, as the infuriated bull, “from a sense of your strength, and with intention to strike.”—Hengstenberg.
Speak not with a stiff neck—With an arrogant neck, a hard neck, a neck of impudence. The allusion is to the lofty tossing of the head of the bison, (when brought to bay,) displaying the pride and strength of his powerful neck.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–6 4. I say unto the arrogant, Deal not arrogantly.…
4. I say unto the arrogant, Deal not arrogantly. Cp. Psa_73:3; Psa_5:5. Rabshakeh and his colleagues and the Assyrians in general were the very type of such boastful, defiant arrogance (Isa_37:23; Isa_10:7 ff.; Nah_1:11).
Lift not up the horn] A metaphor, derived from animals tossing their heads, to denote overweening, defiant self-consciousness of strength.
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4, 5. A warning to all presumptuous braggarts, based on the Divine utterances of Psa_75:2-3. It is disputed whether the speaker is still God, as in Psa_75:2-3, or the poet, but the latter alternative is preferable. The interposition of Selah marks the end of the Divine speech, and I said naturally introduces a fresh speaker. Moreover there is no break between Psa_75:5 and Psa_75:6, but it is clear that God is no longer speaking in Psa_75:6-7.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–6 (4) Fools . . . foolishly.—Better, arrogant . .…
(4) Fools . . . foolishly.—Better, arrogant . . . arrogantly. See Psa_73:3. (Comp. 1Sa_2:3.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv4–6 I said. It is doubtful who is the speaker.…
I said. It is doubtful who is the speaker. Professor Cheyne regards the entire passage from the beginning of ver. 2 to the end of ver. 5 as spoken by the Almighty; but most commentators assign vers. 4 and 5 to the psalmist or the people of Israel. Unto the fools; i.e. to the enemy which was attacking Israel; literally, to the boasters, or to the arrogant ones (see Revised Version). Deal not foolishly; rather, deal not so arrogantly. Do not set yourselves so proudly against the Almighty. And to the wicked, Lift not up the horn; i.e. be not fierce and menacing, like a bull who threatens with his horns.
The self-lifted horn.
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Perhaps the most suggestive explanation of this figure is that given by Mr. Munro, in his "Summer Rambles in Syria." He is writing concerning the females in a Maronite village of Mount Lebanon. "The most remarkable peculiarities of their dress are the immense silver earrings hanging forward upon the neck, and the tantoura, or "horn," which supports the veil. This latter ornament varies in form, material, and position, according to the dignity, taste, and circumstances of the wearer. Horns are of gold, silver-gilt, and silver, and sometimes of wood. The former are either plain or figured in low relief, and occasionally set with jewels; but the length and position of them is that upon which the traveller looks with the greatest interest, as illustrating and explaining a familiar expression of Scripture. The young, the rich, and the vain wear the tantoura of great length, standing straight up from the top of the forehead; whereas the humble, the poor, and the aged place it upon the side of the head, much shorter, and spreading at the end like a trumpet. I do not mean to say that these distinctions are universal, but I was told that they are very general, and thus the "exalted horn" still remains a mark of power and confidence, as it was in the days of Israel"s glory." The appeal of the text is to those who unduly exalt themselves, as party leaders in times of civil commotion are in constant danger of doing. They "think of themselves above that they ought to think." This is clearly indicated in the marginal alternative of the Revised Version, "Speak not insolently with a haughty neck". (see Hannah"s song, 1Sa_2:3)
I THE SELF-IMPORTANT MAN DOES NOT WORTHILY ESTIMATE HIMSELF. The most difficult work for any man to do is honestly to criticize himself. Men shrink from that work. Men incapacitate themselves for it. Men spoil their own vision, and when they look in on themselves only find what they wished to find. "To thine own self be true," even if the truth humbles you in the dust. Illustrate from the case of Shebna.
II THE SELF-IMPORTANT MAN TAKES NO ACCOUNT OF GOD"S ESTIMATE OF HIM. "Be not deceived: God is not mocked." A man can never delude God with any braggings, or mere appearances. He searcheth the heart and trieth the reins. (see Isa_2:10-17) See the confession of a psalmist," My goodness extendeth not to thee." Only the humble man can dare to consider the Divine searchings. Of the proud man it must be said, "God is not in all his thoughts." He would be glad if there were no God.
III THE SELF-IMPORTANT MAN DELUDES HIMSELF CONCERNING OTHER PEOPLE"S ESTIMATE OF HIM. Because he will only give heed to the flatterers. He blinds himself to the mistrust and fear all prudent and good men show in relation to him. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Ver. 4. I said unto the fools, Deal not…
Ver. 4. I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly. The Lord bids the boasters boast not, and commands the mad oppressors to stay their folly. How calm is he, how quiet are his words, yet how divine the rebuke. If the wicked were not insane, they would even now hear in their consciences the still small voice bidding them cease from evil, and forbear their pride.
And to the wicked, Lift not up the horn. He bids the ungodly stay their haughtiness. The horn was the emblem of boastful power; only the foolish, like wild and savage beasts, will lift it high; but they assail heaven itself with it, as if they would gore the Almighty himself. In dignified majesty he rebukes the inane glories of the wicked, who beyond measure exalt themselves in the day of their fancied power.
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Ver. 4. Fools. The ungodly are spiritual fools. If one had a child very beautiful, yet if he were a fool, the parent would have little joy in him. The Scripture hath dressed the sinner in a fool's coat: and let me tell you, better be a fool void of reason, than a fool void of grace: this is the devil's fool. Pr 14:9. Is not he a fool who refuseth a rich portion? God offers Christ and salvation, but the sinner refuseth this portion: "Israel would none of me." Ps 81:11. Is not he a fool who prefers an annuity before an inheritance? Is not he a fool who tends his mortal part, and neglects his angelical part? As if one should paint the wall of his house, and let the timber rot. Is not he a fool who will feed the devil with his soul? As that emperor who fed his lion with a pheasant. Is not he a fool who lays a snare for himself? Pr 1:18. Who consults his own shame? Hab 2:10. Who loves death? Pr 8:36. Thomas Watson.
Ver. 4.
I. Who spoke to them? I.
II. Who were they? Fools, wicked.
III. What did you say?
IV. What was the good of it? Or, Rebuke of sin, a duty.
Ver. 4. The unhallowed trio: --wickedness, folly, pride.
Psalms 75:5*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv5–6 Speak not with a stiff neck.
Psa_75:5
Speak not with a stiff neck.
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Stiff necks
The text is a figure of that pride, stubbornness, or wilful disobedience which refuses to yield to rightful and loving authority.
I. Let me indicate the classes of persons who are morally and spiritually stiffnecked
1. If you resist the conviction of sin, you are stiffnecked.
2. You have shown your stiff neck by despising faithful warnings.
3. Or, it may be, that you have rejected the counsel of godly parents.
4. Your stubbornness in tribulation shows that you have a stiff neck towards God.
II. Let me exhort you to repentance. Let the love of God draw you to turn to Him. (W. Birch.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v4 I said to the arrogant ... and to the…
I said to the arrogant ... and to the wicked
The words "the arrogant" and "the wicked" are nominal adjectives that can be translated with nouns. The verb for the second phrase may be supplied from the first. AT: "I said to the arrogant people ... and I said to the wicked people" (See: Nominal Adjectives and Ellipsis)
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I said
Possible meanings are 1) God is speaking or 2) Asaph is speaking.
Do not be arrogant ... Do not lift ... Do not lift up your ... do not speak
The speaker is speaking to many wicked people, so these forms are all plural. (See: Pronouns)
Do not lift up the horn
Asaph speaks of wicked people as if they were animals with horns on their heads, stretching their necks and holding their heads high to frighten other animals. AT: "Do not be confident" or "Do not boast about how strong you are" (See: Metaphor)
Do not lift up your horn to the heights
Asaph speaks of wicked people as if they were animals with horns on their heads, stretching their necks and holding their heads as high as they can to frighten other animals. AT: "Be especially sure not to boast that you are greater than God" (See: Metaphor)
with an insolent neck
Asaph speaks of wicked people who defy or challenge God as if they were animals with horns on their heads, stretching their necks and holding their heads high to frighten other animals. AT: "arrogantly" (See: Idiom and Metaphor)
It is not from the east ... that lifting up comes
Asaph speaks of the one who lifts up as if he were the action of lifting up. He also speaks of God giving strength and honor to a person as if God were physically lifting that person up. AT: "The one who will lift you up will not be someone who comes from the east" or "The one who will make you strong and have people honor you will not be someone who comes from the east" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
arrogant
evil
desert
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 6 75:4-5 The wicked arrogantly defy the heavens—the dwelling place…
75:4-5 The wicked arrogantly defy the heavens—the dwelling place of God. Through their boasting they insist that they are wiser than God.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.