Psalms 139:2

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

even from far away you understand my motives.

Jeremiah 17:10

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

I examine people’s hearts. ¹ 

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

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

Jeremiah 17:1

17:1 ² The sin of Judah is engraved with an iron chisel

on their stone-hard ³  hearts.

It is inscribed with a diamond ⁴  point

on the horns of their altars. ⁵ 

Colossians 1:24-25

1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body – for the sake of his body, the church – what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. 1:25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship ⁶  from God – given to me for you – in order to complete ⁷  the word of God,

Ephesians 5:13

5:13 But all things being exposed by the light are made evident.

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 

[17:10]  ¹ 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.

[17:1]  ² tn The chapter division which was not a part of the original text but was added in the middle ages obscures the fact that there is no new speech here. The division may have resulted from the faulty identification of the “them” in the preceding verse. See the translator’s note on that verse.

[17:1]  ³ tn The adjective “stone-hard” is not in the Hebrew text. It is implicit in the metaphor and is supplied in the translation for clarity. Cf. Ezek 11:19; 36:26; and Job 19:24 for the figure.

[17:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “adamant.” The word “diamond” is an accommodation to modern times. There is no evidence that diamond was known in ancient times. This hard stone (perhaps emery) became metaphorical for hardness; see Ezek 3:9 and Zech 7:12. For discussion see W. E. Staples, “Adamant,” IDB 1:45.

[17:1]  ⁵ tn This verse has been restructured for the sake of the English poetry: Heb “The sin of Judah is engraved [or written] with an iron pen, inscribed with a point of a diamond [or adamant] upon the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.”

[1:25]  ⁶ tn BDAG 697 s.v. οἰκονομία 1.b renders the term here as “divine office.”

[1:25]  ⁷ tn See BDAG 828 s.v. πληρόω 3. The idea here seems to be that the apostle wants to “complete the word of God” in that he wants to preach it to every person in the known world (cf. Rom 15:19). See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 82.

[2:23]  ⁸ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

[2:23]  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).

[2:23]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

[2:23]  ¹¹ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

[2:23]  ¹² tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”