2:6 The Lord both kills and gives life;
he brings down to the grave and raises up.
2:7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy;
he humbles and he exalts.
2:8 He lifts the weak from the dust;
he raises the poor from the ash heap
to seat them with princes
and to bestow on them an honored position.
The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord,
and he has placed the world on them.
2:9 He watches over his holy ones,
but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness,
for it is not by one’s own strength that one prevails.