For the music director, a psalm of David.
139:1 O Lord, you examine me 5 and know.
139:2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;
even from far away you understand my motives.
139:3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; 6
you are aware of everything I do. 7
139:4 Certainly 8 my tongue does not frame a word
without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it. 9
1 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the shift from the thoughts of the experts in the law to Jesus’ response.
2 tn Grk “they were thus reasoning within themselves.”
3 tn Grk “Why are you reasoning these things in your hearts?”
4 sn Psalm 139. The psalmist acknowledges that God, who created him, is aware of his every action and thought. He invites God to examine his motives, for he is confident they are pure.
5 tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.
6 tn Heb “my traveling and my lying down you measure.” The verb זָרָה (zarah, “to measure”) is probably here a denominative from זָרָת (zarat, “a span; a measure”), though some derive it from זָרָה (zarat, “to winnow; to sift”; see BDB 279-80 s.v. זָרָה).
7 tn Heb “all my ways.”
8 tn Or “for.”
9 tn Heb “look, O
10 tn The masculine form has been retained here in the translation to maintain the connection with “a man of the Pharisees” in 3:1, with the understanding that the reference is to people of both genders.
11 tn See previous note on “man” in this verse.
12 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Grk “said to him.” The words “to him” are clear from the context and slightly redundant in English.
14 tn Or “was sad.”
15 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn Grk “said to.”
17 tn Grk “and said to him.” The words “to him” are clear from the context and slightly redundant in English.
18 tc ‡ Most witnesses, especially later ones (A Θ Ψ Ë13 Ï), read ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (Jo Ihsou", “Jesus”) here, while B C have ᾿Ιησοῦς without the article and א D W Ë1 33 565 al lat lack both. Because of the rapid verbal exchange in this pericope, “Jesus” is virtually required for clarity, providing a temptation to scribes to add the name. Further, the name normally occurs with the article. Although it is possible that B C accidentally omitted the article with the name, it is just as likely that they added the simple name to the text for clarity’s sake, while other witnesses added the article as well. The omission of ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς thus seems most likely to be authentic. NA27 includes the words in brackets, indicating some doubts as to their authenticity.
19 tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”
20 tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.
22 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).
23 tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”
24 sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.
25 tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”