Bible Strands
Luke 1:52
He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — This declaration occurs within a sequence of statements about divine action, positioned between a note on scattering the proud in Luke 1:51 and a note on filling the hungry in Luke 1:53.
The words — καθεῖλεν (katheilen) translates literally as "He has brought down," and ὕψωσεν (hupsōsen) means "He has exalted." These verbs establish the structural contrast between removing rulers from their thrones and lifting up the humble.
The thread — The pattern of God lowering the proud and lifting the lowly appears in Ezekiel 17:24, where He brings the tall tree down and makes the low tree tall, and in Psalms 107:40, which states He pours out contempt on nobles. James 4:10 commands humility before the Lord with the promise of exaltation.
Why it lands — The text states that God actively removes rulers from their positions and lifts up those who are low. It requires the reader to acknowledge divine reversal as the mechanism of justice rather than human effort.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 17:24 Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’”
- James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
- Psalms 107:40 He pours out contempt on the nobles and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.
- 1 Samuel 2:6 The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
- Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Psalms 113:6 He humbles Himself to behold the heavens and the earth.
- Ecclesiastes 4:14 For the youth has come from the prison to the kingship, though he was born poor in his own kingdom.
- 1 Samuel 2:4 The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble are equipped with strength.
- Job 5:11 He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.
- Amos 9:11 “In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,