Bible Strands
Psalms 75:7
but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts another.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Asaph declares to a proud assembly that human power is the wrong source of status. The surrounding verses (6–8) frame this as a rebuke of self-exaltation and a warning of divine judgment.
The words — The verse pivots on two contrasting verbs: yashpil (H8213, "he brings low") and yarim (H7311, "he lifts up"), paired with the dismissive zeh… ve-zeh ("this one… and this one"), as if the individuals are interchangeable pawns.
The thread — The same pattern of divine reversal appears in Luke 1:52 (rulers brought down, humble exalted), Daniel 2:21 (God removes and establishes kings), and Psalm 113:7 (the poor raised from the dust).
Why it lands — It removes the reader from the equation: your elevation or humiliation is not a human achievement or accident but an act of God's judgment. It asks you to stop explaining your status by geography, lineage, or power, and to account for it before the one who holds the cup.
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 Hebrew words
King James Version
But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
Cross-references
- Luke 1:52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble.
- Daniel 2:21 He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
- Psalms 113:7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dump
- Psalms 147:6 The LORD sustains the humble, but casts the wicked to the ground.
- 2 Samuel 6:21 But David said to Michal, “I was dancing before the LORD, who chose me over your father and all his house when He appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel. I will celebrate before the LORD,
- Psalms 50:6 And the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge. Selah
- 1 Samuel 2:7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.
- John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
- Jeremiah 27:4 Give them a message from the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, to relay to their masters:
- 1 Samuel 16:1 Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”