Psalms 11:4

11:4 The Lord is in his holy temple; ¹ 

the Lord’s throne is in heaven. ² 

His eyes ³  watch; ⁴ 

his eyes ⁵  examine ⁶  all people. ⁷ 

Psalms 14:2-5

14:2 The Lord looks down from heaven ⁸  at the human race, ⁹ 

to see if there is anyone who is wise ¹⁰  and seeks God. ¹¹ 

14:3 Everyone rejects God; ¹² 

they are all morally corrupt. ¹³ 

None of them does what is right, ¹⁴ 

not even one!

14:4 All those who behave wickedly ¹⁵  do not understand – ¹⁶ 

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to the Lord.

14:5 They are absolutely terrified, ¹⁷ 

for God defends the godly. ¹⁸ 

Genesis 18:20-21

18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against ¹⁹  Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant ²⁰  18:21 that I must go down ²¹  and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. ²²  If not, ²³  I want to know.”

[11:4]  ¹ tn Because of the royal imagery involved here, one could translate “lofty palace.” The Lord’s heavenly temple is in view here (see Mic 1:2-4).

[11:4]  ² sn The Lord’s throne is in heaven. The psalmist is confident that the Lord reigns as sovereign king, “keeps an eye on” all people, and responds in a just manner to the godly and wicked.

[11:4]  ³ sn His eyes. The anthropomorphic language draws attention to God’s awareness of and interest in the situation on earth. Though the enemies are hidden by the darkness (v. 2), the Lord sees all.

[11:4]  ⁴ tn The two Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this verse describe the Lord’s characteristic activity.

[11:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “eyelids.”

[11:4]  ⁶ tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 7:9; 26:2; 139:23.

[11:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “test the sons of men.”

[14:2]  ⁸ sn The picture of the Lord looking down from heaven draws attention to his sovereignty over the world.

[14:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “upon the sons of man.”

[14:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “acts wisely.” The Hiphil is exhibitive.

[14:2]  ¹¹ sn Anyone who is wise and seeks God refers to the person who seeks to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him.

[14:3]  ¹² tn Heb “everyone turns aside.”

[14:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”

[14:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

[14:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “all the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8.

[14:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question (rendered in the translation as a positive affirmation) expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-7).

[14:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “there they are afraid [with] fear.” The perfect verbal form is probably used in a rhetorical manner; the psalmist describes the future demise of the oppressors as if it were already occurring. The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is also used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the wicked standing in fear at a spot that is this vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.). The cognate accusative following the verb emphasizes the degree of their terror.

[14:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “for God is with a godly generation.” The Hebrew noun דּוֹר (dor, “generation”) refers here to the general class of people who are characterized by godliness. See BDB 190 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.

[18:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the outcry of Sodom,” which apparently refers to the outcry for divine justice from those (unidentified persons) who observe its sinful ways.

[18:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “heavy.”

[18:21]  ²¹ tn The cohortative indicates the Lord’s resolve.

[18:21]  ²² tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the Lord, who is well aware of the human capacity to sin, finds it hard to believe that anyone could be as bad as the “outcry” against Sodom and Gomorrah suggests.

[18:21]  ²³ sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.