He has put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
He has put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
He hath put down princes from their thrones, And hath exalted them of low degree.
He has put down kings from their seats, lifting up on high the men of low degree.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
He has put down princes from their thrones. And has exalted the lowly.
He hath put down princes from their thrones, And hath exalted them of low degree.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats - Or, He hath taken down potentates from their thrones. This probably alludes to the removal of Saul from the throne of Israel, and the establishment of the kingdom in the person and family of David. And as Mary spoke prophetically, this saying may also allude to the destruction of the kingdom of Satan and his allies, and the final prevalence of the kingdom of Christ.
That those which mourn may be exalted to safety - Or rather, they who mourn are exalted to a place of safety, The sense is, that God did this; and that, therefore, there was ground of confidence in him. The word rendered "those which mourn" קדרים qoderı̂ym is from קדר qâdar, to be turbid or foul as a torrent, Job 6:16; hence, to go about in filthy garments, like mourners, to mourn. The general sense of the Hebrew word, as in Arabic, is to be squalid, dark, filthy, dusky, obscure; and hence, it denotes those who are afflicted, which is its sense here. The Septuagint renders it, ἀπολώλοτας apolōlotas, "the lost," or those who are perished. The sense is plain. God raises up the bowed down, the oppressed, and the afflicted. Eliphaz undoubtedly referred to instances which had come under his own observation, when persons who had been in very depressed circumstances, had been raised up to situations of comfort, honor, and safety: and that in a manner which was a manifest interposition of his Providence. From this he argued that those who were in circumstances of great trial, should put their trust in him. Cases of this kind often occur; and a careful observation of the dealings of God with the afflicted, would undoubtedly furnish materials for an argument like that on which Eliphaz relied in this instance.
Luke 1:52Hath put down the mighty - The "mighty" here denotes princes, kings, or conquerors. See Isaiah 14:12-14.
Their seats - Their "thrones," or the places where they sat in pomp and power.
Exalted them - Raised them up, or placed them in the seats of those who had been removed.
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1:52 He hath put down the mighty - Both angels and men.