Psalms 17:3

17:3 You have scrutinized my inner motives; ¹ 

you have examined me during the night. ² 

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

I am determined I will say nothing sinful. ³ 

Psalms 44:21

44:21 would not God discover it,

for he knows ⁴  one’s thoughts? ⁵ 

Psalms 139:1

Psalm 139 ⁶ 

For the music director, a psalm of David.

139:1 O Lord, you examine me ⁷  and know.

Psalms 139:1

Psalm 139 ⁸ 

For the music director, a psalm of David.

139:1 O Lord, you examine me ⁹  and know.

Psalms 16:7

16:7 I will praise ¹⁰  the Lord who ¹¹  guides ¹²  me;

yes, during the night I reflect and learn. ¹³ 

Psalms 16:1

Psalm 16 ¹⁴ 

A prayer ¹⁵  of David.

16:1 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 28:9

28:9 Deliver your people!

Empower ¹⁷  the nation that belongs to you! ¹⁸ 

Care for them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms ¹⁹  at all times! ²⁰ 

Jeremiah 11:20

11:20 So I said to the Lord, ²¹ 

“O Lord who rules over all, ²²  you are a just judge!

You examine people’s hearts and minds. ²³ 

I want to see you pay them back for what they have done

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.” ²⁴ 

Jeremiah 17:10

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

I examine people’s hearts. ²⁵ 

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

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

Jeremiah 20:12

20:12 O Lord who rules over all, ²⁶  you test and prove the righteous.

You see into people’s hearts and minds. ²⁷ 

Pay them back for what they have done

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.

Revelation 2:23

2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ²⁸  with a deadly disease, ²⁹  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ³⁰  each one of you ³¹  what your deeds deserve. ³² 

[17:3]  ¹ tn Heb “you tested my heart.”

[17:3]  ² tn Heb “you visited [at] night.”

[17:3]  ³ 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.

[44:21]  ⁴ tn The active participle describes what is characteristically true.

[44:21]  ⁵ 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.

[139:1]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.

[139:1]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.

[16:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “bless,” that is, “proclaim as worthy of praise.”

[16:7]  ¹¹ tn Or “because.”

[16:7]  ¹² tn Or “counsels, advises.”

[16:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “yes, [during] nights my kidneys instruct [or “correct”] me.” The “kidneys” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s moral character (see Ps 26:2). In the quiet darkness the Lord speaks to his inner being, as it were, and enables him to grow in moral understanding.

[16:1]  ¹⁴ sn Psalm 16. The psalmist seeks divine protection because he has remained loyal to God. He praises God for his rich blessings, and is confident God will vindicate him and deliver him from death.

[16:1]  ¹⁵ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מִכְתָּם (mikhtam) is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[16:1]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results (see 7:1; 11:1).

[28:9]  ¹⁷ tn Or “bless.”

[28:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “your inheritance.” The parallelism (note “your people”) indicates that Israel is in view.

[28:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “shepherd them and lift them up.”

[28:9]  ²⁰ tn Or “forever.”

[11:20]  ²¹ tn The words “So I said to the Lord” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show the shift in address.

[11:20]  ²² tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[11:20]  ²³ tn Heb “Lord of armies, just judge, tester of kidneys and heart.” The sentence has been broken up to avoid a long and complex English sentence. The translation is more in keeping with contemporary English style. In Hebrew thought the “kidneys” were thought of as the seat of the emotions and passions and the “heart” was viewed as the seat of intellect, conscience, and will. The “heart” and the “kidneys” are often used figuratively for the thoughts, emotions, motives, and drives that are thought to be seated in them.

[11:20]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Let me see your retribution [i.e., see you exact retribution] from them because I reveal my cause [i.e., plea for justice] to you.”

[17:10]  ²⁵ 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.

[20:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[20:12]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Lord of armies, the one who tests the righteous, who sees kidneys and heart.” The sentence has been broken up to avoid a long and complex English sentence. The translation is more in keeping with contemporary English style.

[2:23]  ²⁸ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

[2:23]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

[2:23]  ³¹ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

[2:23]  ³² tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”