1 Chronicles 29:17

29:17 I know, my God, that you examine thoughts ¹  and are pleased with integrity. With pure motives ²  I contribute all this; and now I look with joy as your people who have gathered here contribute to you.

1 Chronicles 29:1

The People Contribute to the Project

29:1 King David said to the entire assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is just an inexperienced young man, ³  and the task is great, for this palace is not for man, but for the Lord God.

1 Chronicles 16:7

David Thanks God

16:7 That day David first gave to Asaph and his colleagues this song of thanks to the Lord:

1 Chronicles 16:1

David Leads in Worship

16:1 They brought the ark of God and put it in the middle of the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings ⁴  before God.

1 Chronicles 8:39

8:39 The sons of his brother Eshek:

Ulam was his firstborn, Jeush second, and Eliphelet third.

Psalms 7:9

7:9 May the evil deeds of the wicked ⁵  come to an end! ⁶ 

But make the innocent ⁷  secure, ⁸ 

O righteous God,

you who examine ⁹  inner thoughts and motives! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 139:2

139:2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;

even from far away you understand my motives.

Proverbs 17:3

17:3 The crucible ¹¹  is for refining ¹²  silver and the furnace ¹³  is for gold,

likewise ¹⁴  the Lord tests ¹⁵  hearts.

Jeremiah 11:20

11:20 So I said to the Lord, ¹⁶ 

“O Lord who rules over all, ¹⁷  you are a just judge!

You examine people’s hearts and minds. ¹⁸ 

I want to see you pay them back for what they have done

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.” ¹⁹ 

Jeremiah 17:10

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

I examine people’s hearts. ²⁰ 

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

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

Jeremiah 20:12

20:12 O Lord who rules over all, ²¹  you test and prove the righteous.

You see into people’s hearts and minds. ²² 

Pay them back for what they have done

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.

John 2:25

2:25 He did not need anyone to testify about man, ²³  for he knew what was in man. ²⁴ 

John 21:17

21:17 Jesus ²⁵  said ²⁶  a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed ²⁷  that Jesus ²⁸  asked ²⁹  him a third time, “Do you love me?” and said, ³⁰  “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus ³¹  replied, ³²  “Feed my sheep.

Acts 1:24

1:24 Then they prayed, ³³  “Lord, you know the hearts of all. Show us which one of these two you have chosen

Hebrews 4:13

4:13 And no creature is hidden from God, ³⁴  but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

Revelation 2:23

2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ³⁵  with a deadly disease, ³⁶  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ³⁷  each one of you ³⁸  what your deeds deserve. ³⁹ 

[29:17]  ¹ tn Heb “a heart.”

[29:17]  ² tn Heb “with integrity of heart.”

[29:1]  ³ tn Heb “a young man and tender.”

[16:1]  ⁴ tn Or “tokens of peace”; NIV “fellowship offerings.”

[7:9]  ⁵ 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.

[7:9]  ⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation here.

[7:9]  ⁷ 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.

[7:9]  ⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form expresses the psalmist’s prayer or wish.

[7:9]  ⁹ tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 11:4; 26:2; 139:23.

[7:9]  ¹⁰ 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.

[17:3]  ¹¹ sn The noun מַצְרֵף (matsref) means “a place or instrument for refining” (cf. ASV, NASB “the refining pot”). The related verb, which means “to melt, refine, smelt,” is used in scripture literally for refining and figuratively for the Lord’s purifying and cleansing and testing people.

[17:3]  ¹² tn The term “refining” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[17:3]  ¹³ sn The term כּוּר (cur) describes a “furnace” or “smelting pot.” It can be used figuratively for the beneficial side of affliction (Isa 48:10).

[17:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and.” Most English versions treat this as an adversative (“but”).

[17:3]  ¹⁵ sn The participle בֹּחֵן (bokhen, “tests”) in this emblematic parallelism takes on the connotations of the crucible and the furnace. When the Lord “tests” human hearts, the test, whatever form it takes, is designed to improve the value of the one being tested. Evil and folly will be removed when such testing takes place.

[11:20]  ¹⁶ tn The words “So I said to the Lord” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show the shift in address.

[11:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[11:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Lord of armies, just judge, tester of kidneys and heart.” The sentence has been broken up to avoid a long and complex English sentence. The translation is more in keeping with contemporary English style. In Hebrew thought the “kidneys” were thought of as the seat of the emotions and passions and the “heart” was viewed as the seat of intellect, conscience, and will. The “heart” and the “kidneys” are often used figuratively for the thoughts, emotions, motives, and drives that are thought to be seated in them.

[11:20]  ¹⁹ 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.”

[17:10]  ²⁰ 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.

[20:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[20:12]  ²² tn Heb “Lord of armies, the one who tests the righteous, who sees kidneys and heart.” The sentence has been broken up to avoid a long and complex English sentence. The translation is more in keeping with contemporary English style.

[2:25]  ²³ 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.

[2:25]  ²⁴ tn See previous note on “man” in this verse.

[21:17]  ²⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:17]  ²⁶ tn Grk “said to him.” The words “to him” are clear from the context and slightly redundant in English.

[21:17]  ²⁷ tn Or “was sad.”

[21:17]  ²⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:17]  ²⁹ tn Grk “said to.”

[21:17]  ³⁰ tn Grk “and said to him.” The words “to him” are clear from the context and slightly redundant in English.

[21:17]  ³¹ 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 ˹ 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.

[21:17]  ³² tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

[1:24]  ³³ 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.

[4:13]  ³⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:23]  ³⁵ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

[2:23]  ³⁶ 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).

[2:23]  ³⁷ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

[2:23]  ³⁸ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

[2:23]  ³⁹ tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”