Psalms 44:21

44:21 would not God discover it,

for he knows ¹  one’s thoughts? ² 

Isaiah 29:15

29:15 Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead, ³ 

who do their work in secret and boast, ⁴ 

“Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?” ⁵ 

Luke 12:2

12:2 Nothing is hidden ⁶  that will not be revealed, ⁷  and nothing is secret that will not be made known.

Hebrews 4:13

4:13 And no creature is hidden from God, ⁸  but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

[44:21]  ¹ tn The active participle describes what is characteristically true.

[44:21]  ² tn Heb “would not God search out this, for he knows the hidden things of [the] heart?” The expression “search out” is used metonymically here, referring to discovery, the intended effect of a search. The “heart” (i.e., mind) is here viewed as the seat of one’s thoughts. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he would!” The point seems to be this: There is no way the Israelites who are the speakers in the psalm would reject God and turn to another god, for the omniscient God would easily discover such a sin.

[29:15]  ³ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who deeply hide counsel from the Lord.” This probably alludes to political alliances made without seeking the Lord’s guidance. See 30:1-2 and 31:1.

[29:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “and their works are in darkness and they say.”

[29:15]  ⁵ tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer, “no one.” They are confident that their deeds are hidden from others, including God.

[12:2]  ⁶ tn Or “concealed.”

[12:2]  ⁷ sn I.e., be revealed by God. The passive voice verbs here (“be revealed,” be made known”) see the revelation as coming from God. The text is both a warning about bad things being revealed and an encouragement that good things will be made known, though the stress with the images of darkness and what is hidden in vv. 2-3 is on the attempt to conceal.

[4:13]  ⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.