Verses about humility and service

Thus says YHWH: “The heavens are my throne, and the earth the footstool of my feet. Where is this house that you would build for me, and where is this place of my rest? And all these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares YHWH. But to this one I will look: to the afflicted and the stricken in spirit, and the one who trembles at my word.

For YHWH is high, yet the lowly he sees, but the haughty from afar he knows.

For you do not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; in burnt offering you do not take pleasure. The sacrifices of Elohim are a broken spirit; a broken and crushed heart, Elohim, you will not despise.

For thus says the High and Lifted Up One, who inhabits eternity, and Holy is his name: “In the high and holy place I dwell, and with the crushed and lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the crushed.

He has announced to you, human being, what is good; and what does YHWH seek from you but to do justice, and to love loyal love, and to walk humbly with your Elohim?

If he scoffs at the scoffers, then to the humble he gives favor.

“Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Happy are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, for he has looked upon the lowliness of his slave. For look, from now on all generations will call me happy, for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for generation after generation to those who fear him. He has done a mighty deed with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their heart; he has brought down rulers from thrones and exalted the lowly; the hungry he has filled with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any human being who was on the face of the ground.

Before a breaking comes pride, and before a fall, haughtiness of spirit. Better to be lowly of spirit with the humble than to divide plunder with the proud.

Insolence comes, and disgrace comes; but with the modest is wisdom.

All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he was walking on the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built as a royal house by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?” While the word was still in the mouth of the king, a voice fell from the heavens: “To you it is said, King Nebuchadnezzar: the kingdom has passed from you, and from men you are being driven away, and with the animals of the field will be your dwelling; grass like oxen you will be made to eat, and seven times will pass over you, until you know that Illaya rules over the kingdom of men, and to whomever he wishes he gives it.” At that very moment the word was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar; and from men he was driven away, and grass like oxen he ate, and with the dew of the heavens his body was drenched, until his hair grew like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws. And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to the heavens, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed Illaya, and I praised and glorified the one who lives forever, whose dominion is an eternal dominion, and his kingdom is with generation and generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing, and according to his will he does among the army of the heavens and the inhabitants of the earth; and there is no one who can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” At that time my understanding returned to me, and for the honor of my kingdom, my majesty and my splendor returned to me; and my advisers and my nobles sought me, and I was reestablished over my kingdom, and extraordinary greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of the heavens, for all his works are truth and his ways justice, and he is able to humble those who walk in pride.

But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his own destruction; he was unfaithful to YHWH his Elohim, and went into the temple of YHWH to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him eighty priests of YHWH, valiant men. They stood against Uzziah the king and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to YHWH, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful, and this will not be for your honor from YHWH Elohim.” Uzziah was enraged, and in his hand was a censer to burn incense; and when he was enraged with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of YHWH, beside the altar of incense. Azariah the head priest and all the priests turned toward him, and look, he was leprous on his forehead. They rushed him out of there, and he himself also hurried to go out, because YHWH had struck him. Uzziah the king was leprous until the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house, leprous, for he was cut off from the house of YHWH; and Jotham his son was over the house of the king, judging the people of the land.

The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, in the height of his dwelling, who says in his heart, “Who will bring me down to the earth?” Though you soar high like the eagle, and though among the stars your nest is set, from there I will bring you down, declares YHWH.

A man’s loftiness will bring him low, but the lowly of spirit will lay hold of honor.

And he told this parable also to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised the rest: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing, was praying these things to himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men: robbers, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house declared righteous, rather than that one; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Do nothing from selfish ambition or from empty conceit, but in humility regard one another as surpassing yourselves, each not looking out for their own interests but each also for the interests of others. Think this way among yourselves, which was also in the Messiah Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider being equal to God something to be seized, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming to be in the likeness of human beings; and being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and granted him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus the Messiah is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, that for your sake he became poor, though he was rich, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion; shout, daughter of Jerusalem. Look, your king comes to you; righteous and saved is he, afflicted and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the son of donkeys.

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, gets up from supper and lays aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, he tied it around himself. Then he pours water into the basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. So he comes to Simon Peter; he says to him, “Lord, are you washing my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not know now, but you will understand afterward.” Peter says to him, “You shall never wash my feet, ever!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter says to him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” Jesus says to him, “Whoever has bathed has no need except to wash the feet, but is entirely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For he knew the one who was handing him over; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.” So when he had washed their feet and taken his outer garments and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, for so I am. So if I, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, so that just as I have done to you, you also may do.

And summoning them, Jesus says to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it is not so among you; rather, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you will be the slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

And there arose also a dispute among them as to which of them seemed to be the greatest. And he said to them, “The kings of the nations lord it over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. But you are not so; rather let the greatest among you become like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who reclines at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone who is among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to think soberly, as God has assigned to each a measure of faith.

In brotherly love be devoted to one another; outdo one another in honor;

For you were called to freedom, brothers; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve as slaves to one another.

Each one, as he has received a gift, serving one another with it as good stewards of the varied grace of God.

But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi,’ for one is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth your father, for one is your Father, the heavenly one. Nor be called instructors, because your instructor is one, the Messiah. But the greatest among you will be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace:

Likewise, you younger, submit to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves then under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your anxiety on him, because he cares about you.