Psalms 139:1-4

Psalm 139 ¹ 

For the music director, a psalm of David.

139:1 O Lord, you examine me ²  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; ³ 

you are aware of everything I do. ⁴ 

139:4 Certainly ⁵  my tongue does not frame a word

without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it. ⁶ 

Ecclesiastes 10:20

10:20 Do not curse a king even in your thoughts,

and do not curse the rich ⁷  while in your bedroom; ⁸ 

for a bird ⁹  might report what you are thinking, ¹⁰ 

or some winged creature ¹¹  might repeat your ¹²  words. ¹³ 

[139:1]  ¹ 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.

[139:1]  ² tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.

[139:3]  ³ 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).

[139:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “all my ways.”

[139:4]  ⁵ tn Or “for.”

[139:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “look, O Lord, you know all of it.”

[10:20]  ⁷ tn Perhaps the referent is people who are in authority because of their wealth.

[10:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “in chambers of your bedroom.”

[10:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “a bird of the air.”

[10:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “might carry the voice.” The article is used here with the force of a possessive pronoun.

[10:20]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew phrase בַּעַל הַכְּנָפַיִם (ba’al hakkÿnafayim, “possessor of wings”) is an idiom for a winged creature, that is, a bird (e.g., Prov 1:17; see HALOT 143 s.v. בַּעַל A.6; BDB 127 s.v. בַּעַל 5.a). The term בַּעַל (“master; possessor”) is the construct governing the attributive genitive הַכְּנָפַיִם (“wings”); see IBHS 149-51 §9.5.3b.

[10:20]  ¹² tn The term “your” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[10:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “tell the matter.”