1 Samuel 2:3

2:3 Don’t keep speaking so arrogantly, ¹ 

letting proud talk come out of your mouth!

For the Lord is a God who knows;

he ²  evaluates what people do.

Psalms 7:8-9

7:8 The Lord judges the nations. ³ 

Vindicate me, Lord, because I am innocent, ⁴ 

because I am blameless, ⁵  O Exalted One! ⁶ 

7:9 May the evil deeds of the wicked ⁷  come to an end! ⁸ 

But make the innocent ⁹  secure, ¹⁰ 

O righteous God,

you who examine ¹¹  inner thoughts and motives! ¹² 

Psalms 17:2-3

17:2 Make a just decision on my behalf! ¹³ 

Decide what is right! ¹⁴ 

17:3 You have scrutinized my inner motives; ¹⁵ 

you have examined me during the night. ¹⁶ 

You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.

I am determined I will say nothing sinful. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 26:1

Psalm 26 ¹⁸ 

By David.

26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord,

for I have integrity, ¹⁹ 

and I trust in the Lord without wavering.

Proverbs 16:11

16:11 Honest scales and balances ²⁰  are from the Lord;

all the weights ²¹  in the bag are his handiwork.

Isaiah 26:7

God’s People Anticipate Vindication

26:7 ²² The way of the righteous is level,

the path of the righteous that you make is straight. ²³ 

Daniel 5:27

5:27 As for teqel – you are weighed on the balances and found to be lacking.

Micah 6:11

6:11 I do not condone the use of rigged scales,

or a bag of deceptive weights. ²⁴ 

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “proudly, proudly.” If MT is original, the repetition of the word is for emphasis, stressing the arrogance of those addressed. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts and some other textual witnesses do not reflect the repetition, suggesting that the Hebrew text may be dittographic.

[2:3]  ² tc The MT (Qere) reads “and by him actions are weighed.” The translation assumes that reading of the Qere וְלוֹ (vÿlo, “and by him”), which is supported by many medieval Hebrew mss, is correct, rather than the reading of the Kethib וְלוֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

[7:8]  ³ sn The Lord judges the nations. In hyperbolic fashion the psalmist pictures the nations assembled around the divine throne (v. 7a). He urges God to take his rightful place on the throne (v. 7b) and then pictures him making judicial decisions that vindicate the innocent (see vv. 8-16).

[7:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “judge me, O Lord, according to my innocence.”

[7:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “according to my blamelessness.” The imperative verb translated “vindicate” governs the second line as well.

[7:8]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew form עָלָי (’alay) has been traditionally understood as the preposition עַל (’al, “over”) with a first person suffix. But this is syntactically awkward and meaningless. The form is probably a divine title derived from the verbal root עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”). This relatively rare title appears elsewhere in the OT (see HALOT 824-25 s.v. I עַל, though this text is not listed) and in Ugaritic as an epithet for Baal (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 98). See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:44-45, and P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 98.

[7:9]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation here.

[7:9]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn The prefixed verbal form expresses the psalmist’s prayer or wish.

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

[7:9]  ¹² 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.

[17:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “From before you may my justice come out.” The prefixed verbal form יָצָא (yatsa’) could be taken as an imperfect, but following the imperatives in v. 1, it is better understood as a jussive of prayer.

[17:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “May your eyes look at what is right.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as jussive. (See also the preceding note on the word “behalf.”)

[17:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “you tested my heart.”

[17:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you visited [at] night.”

[17:3]  ¹⁷ tc Heb “you tested me, you do not find, I plan, my mouth will not cross over.” The Hebrew verbal form זַמֹּתִי (zammotiy) is a Qal perfect, first person singular from the root זָמַם (zamam, “plan, plan evil”). Some emend the form to a suffixed form of the noun, זִמָּתִי (zimmatiy, “my plan/evil plan”), and take it as the object of the preceding verb “find.” However, the suffix seems odd, since the psalmist is denying that he has any wrong thoughts. If one takes the form with what precedes, it might make better sense to read זִמּוֹת (zimmot, “evil plans”). However, this emendation leaves an unclear connection with the next line. The present translation maintains the verbal form found in the MT and understands it in a neutral sense, “I have decided” (see Jer 4:28). The words “my mouth will not cross over” (i.e., “transgress, sin”) can then be taken as a noun clause functioning as the object of the verb.

[26:1]  ¹⁸ sn Psalm 26. The author invites the Lord to test his integrity, asserts his innocence and declares his loyalty to God.

[26:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for I in my integrity walk.”

[16:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “a scale and balances of justice.” This is an attributive genitive, meaning “just scales and balances.” The law required that scales and measures be accurate and fair (Lev 19:36; Deut 25:13). Shrewd dishonest people kept light and heavy weights to make unfair transactions.

[16:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “stones.”

[26:7]  ²² sn The literary structure of chap. 26 is not entirely clear. The chapter begins with an eschatological song of praise and ends with a lament and prophetic response (vv. 16-21). It is not certain where the song of praise ends or how vv. 7-15 fit into the structure. Verses 10-11a seem to lament the presence of evil and v. 11b anticipates the arrival of judgment, so it is possible that vv. 7-15 are a prelude to the lament and announcement that conclude the chapter.

[26:7]  ²³ tc The Hebrew text has, “upright, the path of the righteous you make level.” There are three possible ways to translate this line. Some take יָשָׁר (yashar) as a divine title: “O Upright One” (cf. NASB, NIV, NKJV, NRSV, NLT). Others regard יָשָׁר as the result of dittography (מֵישָׁרִים יָשָׁר ַמעְגַּל, mesharim yashar ma’gal) and do not include it in the translation. Another possibility is to keep יָשָׁר and render the line as “the path of the righteous that you prepare is straight.”

[6:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Do I acquit sinful scales, and a bag of deceptive weights?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “No, I do not,” and has been translated as a declarative statement for clarity and emphasis.