Psalms 73:21

73:21 Yes, ¹  my spirit was bitter, ² 

and my insides felt sharp pain. ³ 

Jeremiah 12:2

12:2 You plant them like trees and they put down their roots. ⁴ 

They grow prosperous and are very fruitful. ⁵ 

They always talk about you,

but they really care nothing about you. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 17:10

17:10 I, the Lord, probe into people’s minds.

I examine people’s hearts. ⁷ 

I deal with each person according to how he has behaved.

I give them what they deserve based on what they have done.

Revelation 2:23

2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ⁸  with a deadly disease, ⁹  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ¹⁰  each one of you ¹¹  what your deeds deserve. ¹² 

¹ tn Or perhaps “when.”

² tn The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing attitude in a past time frame.

³ tn Heb “and [in] my kidneys I was pierced.” The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing condition in a past time frame.

⁴ tn Heb “You planted them and they took root.”

⁵ tn Heb “they grow and produce fruit.” For the nuance “grow” for the verb which normally means “go, walk,” see BDB 232 s.v. חָלַךְ Qal.I.3 and compare Hos 14:7.

⁶ tn Heb “You are near in their mouths, but far from their kidneys.” The figure of substitution is being used here, “mouth” for “words” and “kidneys” for passions and affections. A contemporary equivalent might be, “your name is always on their lips, but their hearts are far from you.”

⁷ 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.

⁸ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

⁹ 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).

¹⁰ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

¹¹ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

¹² tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”