Psalms 19:12

19:12 Who can know all his errors? ¹ 

Please do not punish me for sins I am unaware of. ² 

Psalms 90:11

90:11 Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger? ³ 

Your raging fury causes people to fear you. ⁴ 

Psalms 113:5

113:5 Who can compare to the Lord our God,

who sits on a high throne? ⁵ 

[19:12]  ¹ tn Heb “Errors who can discern?” This rhetorical question makes the point that perfect moral discernment is impossible to achieve. Consequently it is inevitable that even those with good intentions will sin on occasion.

[19:12]  ² tn Heb “declare me innocent from hidden [things],” i.e., sins. In this context (see the preceding line) “hidden” sins are not sins committed in secret, but sins which are not recognized as such by the psalmist.

[90:11]  ³ tn Heb “Who knows the strength of your anger?”

[90:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “and like your fear [is] your raging fury.” Perhaps one should emend וּכְיִרְאָתְךְ (ukhyir’otekh, “and like your fear”) to יִרְאָתְךְ (yir’otkh, “your fear”), understanding a virtual dittography (אַפֶּךָ וּכְיִרְאָתְךְ, ’apekha ukhyir’otekh) to have occurred. In this case the psalmist asserts “your fear [is] your raging fury,” that is, your raging fury is what causes others to fear you. The suffix on “fear” is understood as objective.

[113:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “the one who makes high to sit.”