1Sa 2:9 | NET2full | STEP | 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 .

‏ 1 Samuel 2:9

9 He watches over ^{▼▼tn Heb “guards the feet of.” The expression means that God watches over and protects the godly in all of their activities and movements. The imperfect verbal forms in v. 9 are understood as indicating what is typically true. Another option is to translate them with the future tense. See v. 10b.} his holy ones, ^{▼▼tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading the plural (“his holy ones”) rather than the singular (“his holy one”) of the Kethib.}
but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness, ^{▼▼tc The LXX begins the verse differently, “granting the prayer to the one who prays; he blessed the years of the righteous.”}
for it is not by one’s own ^{▼▼tn Heb “For not by strength a person prevails.” Since the Lord’s strength is apparent in the context, the translation adds “one’s own” for clarity.} strength that one prevails.