Psalms 33:15

33:15 He is the one who forms every human heart, ¹ 

and takes note of all their actions.

Psalms 37:10

37:10 Evil men will soon disappear; ² 

you will stare at the spot where they once were, but they will be gone. ³ 

Psalms 49:20

49:20 Wealthy people do not understand; ⁴ 

they are like animals ⁵  that perish. ⁶ 

Psalms 73:17

73:17 Then I entered the precincts of God’s temple, ⁷ 

and understood the destiny of the wicked. ⁸ 

Psalms 94:7

94:7 Then they say, “The Lord does not see this;

the God of Jacob does not take notice of it.” ⁹ 

Psalms 107:43

107:43 Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things!

Let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love!

Psalms 119:104

119:104 Your precepts give me discernment.

Therefore I hate all deceitful actions. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 139:2

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

even from far away you understand my motives.

[33:15]  ¹ tn Heb “the one who forms together their heart[s].” “Heart” here refers to human nature, composed of intellect, emotions and will. The precise force of יָחַד (yakhad, “together”) is unclear here. The point seems to be that the Lord is the creator of every human being.

[37:10]  ² tn Heb “and yet, a little, there will be no wicked [one].”

[37:10]  ³ tn Heb “and you will carefully look upon his place, but he will not be [there].” The singular is used here in a representative sense; the typical evildoer is in view.

[49:20]  ³ tn Heb “mankind in honor does not understand.” The Hebrew term יְקָר (yÿqar, “honor”) probably refers here to the wealth mentioned in the preceding context. The imperfect verbal form draws attention to what is characteristically true. Some emend יָבִין (yavin, “understands”) to יָלִין (yalin, “remains”), but this is an unnecessary accommodation to the wording of v. 12.

[49:20]  ⁴ tn Or “cattle.”

[49:20]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew verb is derived from דָּמָה (damah, “cease, destroy”; BDB 198 s.v.). Another option is to derive the verb from דָּמָה (damah, “be silent”; see HALOT 225 s.v. II דמה, which sees two homonymic roots [I דָּמַה, “be silent,” and II דָּמַה, “destroy”] rather than a single root) and translate, “they are like dumb beasts.” This makes particularly good sense here, where the preceding line focuses on mankind’s lack of understanding.

[73:17]  ⁴ tn The plural of the term מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash) probably refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 68:35; Jer 51:51).

[73:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “I discerned their end.” At the temple the psalmist perhaps received an oracle of deliverance announcing his vindication and the demise of the wicked (see Ps 12) or heard songs of confidence (for example, Ps 11), wisdom psalms (for example, Pss 1, 37), and hymns (for example, Ps 112) that describe the eventual downfall of the proud and wealthy.

[94:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “does not understand.”

[119:104]  ⁶ tn Heb “every false path.”