8:1 4 Then Solomon convened in Jerusalem 5 Israel’s elders, all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the city of David (that is, Zion). 6
7:9 May the evil deeds of the wicked 14 come to an end! 15
But make the innocent 16 secure, 17
O righteous God,
you who examine 18 inner thoughts and motives! 19
139:2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;
even from far away you understand my motives.
15:11 Death and Destruction 20 are before the Lord –
how much more 21 the hearts of humans! 22
16:2 All a person’s ways 23 seem right 24 in his own opinion, 25
but the Lord evaluates 26 the motives. 27
11:20 So I said to the Lord, 28
“O Lord who rules over all, 29 you are a just judge!
You examine people’s hearts and minds. 30
I want to see you pay them back for what they have done
because I trust you to vindicate my cause.” 31
17:10 I, the Lord, probe into people’s minds.
I examine people’s hearts. 32
I deal with each person according to how he has behaved.
I give them what they deserve based on what they have done.
20:12 O Lord who rules over all, 33 you test and prove the righteous.
You see into people’s hearts and minds. 34
Pay them back for what they have done
because I trust you to vindicate my cause.
1 tn The words “their sin” are added for clarification.
2 tn Heb “and act and give to each one according to all his ways because you know his heart.” In the Hebrew text vv. 37-39a actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided up for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Heb “Indeed you know, you alone, the heart of all the sons of mankind.”
4 tc The Old Greek translation includes the following words at the beginning of ch. 8: “It so happened that when Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple and his own house, after twenty years.”
5 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
6 tn Heb “Then Solomon convened the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers belonging to the sons of Israel to King Solomon [in] Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant of the
7 tc The ancient Greek version omits this appositional phrase.
8 tn Heb “said to.”
9 tn Heb “let them seek for my master, the king, a young girl, a virgin.” The third person plural subject of the verb is indefinite (see GKC 460 §144.f). The appositional expression, “a young girl, a virgin,” is idiomatic; the second term specifically defines the more general first term (see IBHS 230 §12.3b).
10 tn Heb “and she will stand before the king.” The Hebrew phrase “stand before” can mean “to attend; to serve” (BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד).
11 tn Heb “and she will lie down in your bosom.” The expression might imply sexual intimacy (see 2 Sam 12:3 [where the lamb symbolizes Bathsheba] and Mic 7:5), though v. 4b indicates that David did not actually have sex with the young woman.
12 tn Heb “and my master, the king, will be warm.”
13 tn Heb “while he was drinking and drunken.”
14 tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and his people.
15 tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation here.
16 tn Or “the godly” (see Ps 5:12). The singular form is collective (see the plural “upright in heart” in v. 10), though it may reflect the personal focus of the psalmist in this context.
17 tn The prefixed verbal form expresses the psalmist’s prayer or wish.
18 tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 11:4; 26:2; 139:23.
19 tn Heb “and [the one who] tests hearts and kidneys, just God.” The translation inverts the word order to improve the English style. The heart and kidneys were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.
20 tn Heb “Sheol and Abaddon” (שְׁאוֹל וַאֲבַדּוֹן (shÿ’ol va’adon); so ASV, NASB, NRSV; cf. KJV “Hell and destruction”; NAB “the nether world and the abyss.” These terms represent the remote underworld and all the mighty powers that reside there (e.g., Prov 27:20; Job 26:6; Ps 139:8; Amos 9:2; Rev 9:11). The
21 tn The construction אַף כִּי (’af ki, “how much more!”) introduces an argument from the lesser to the greater: If all this is open before the
22 tn Heb “the hearts of the sons of man,” although here “sons of man” simply means “men” or “human beings.”
23 tn Heb “ways of a man.”
24 sn The Hebrew term translated “right” (z~E) means “innocent” (NIV) or “pure” (NAB, NRSV, NLT). It is used in the Bible for pure oils or undiluted liquids; here it means unmixed actions. Therefore on the one hand people rather naively conclude that their actions are fine.
25 tn Heb “in his eyes.”
26 tn The figure (a hypocatastasis) of “weighing” signifies “evaluation” (e.g., Exod 5:8; 1 Sam 2:3; 16:7; Prov 21:2; 24:12). There may be an allusion to the Egyptian belief of weighing the heart after death to determine righteousness. But in Hebrew thought it is an ongoing evaluation as well, not merely an evaluation after death.
27 tn Heb “spirits” (so KJV, ASV). This is a metonymy for the motives, the intentions of the heart (e.g., 21:2 and 24:2).
28 tn The words “So I said to the
29 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
30 tn Heb “
31 tn Heb “Let me see your retribution [i.e., see you exact retribution] from them because I reveal my cause [i.e., plea for justice] to you.”
32 tn The term rendered “mind” here and in the previous verse is actually the Hebrew word for “heart.” However, in combination with the word rendered “heart” in the next line, which is the Hebrew for “kidneys,” it is best rendered “mind” because the “heart” was considered the center of intellect, conscience, and will and the “kidneys” the center of emotions.
33 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
34 tn Heb “
35 tn Grk “And praying, they said.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
36 tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
37 tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.
38 tn Grk “I will kill with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).
39 tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”
40 sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.
41 tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”