Psalms 7:9

7:9 May the evil deeds of the wicked ¹  come to an end! ² 

But make the innocent ³  secure, ⁴ 

O righteous God,

you who examine ⁵  inner thoughts and motives! ⁶ 

Psalms 17:3

17:3 You have scrutinized my inner motives; ⁷ 

you have examined me during the night. ⁸ 

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

I am determined I will say nothing sinful. ⁹ 

Psalms 26:2

26:2 Examine me, O Lord, and test me!

Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 139:1

Psalm 139 ¹¹ 

For the music director, a psalm of David.

139:1 O Lord, you examine me ¹²  and know.

Psalms 139:23-24

139:23 Examine me, and probe my thoughts! ¹³ 

Test me, and know my concerns! ¹⁴ 

139:24 See if there is any idolatrous tendency ¹⁵  in me,

and lead me in the reliable ancient path! ¹⁶ 

Genesis 22:1

The Sacrifice of Isaac

22:1 Some time after these things God tested ¹⁷  Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham ¹⁸  replied.

Zechariah 13:9

13:9 Then I will bring the remaining third into the fire;

I will refine them like silver is refined

and will test them like gold is tested.

They will call on my name and I will answer;

I will say, ‘These are my people,’

and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” ¹⁹ 

Malachi 3:3

3:3 He will act like a refiner and purifier of silver and will cleanse the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will offer the Lord a proper offering.

James 1:12

1:12 Happy is the one ²⁰  who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God ²¹  promised to those who love him.

James 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From James, ²²  a slave ²³  of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. ²⁴  Greetings!

James 1:7

1:7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord,

James 4:12

4:12 But there is only one who is lawgiver and judge – the one who is able to save and destroy. On the other hand, who are you to judge your neighbor? ²⁵ 

[7:9]  ¹ tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and his people.

[7:9]  ² tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation here.

[7:9]  ³ tn Or “the godly” (see Ps 5:12). The singular form is collective (see the plural “upright in heart” in v. 10), though it may reflect the personal focus of the psalmist in this context.

[7:9]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form expresses the psalmist’s prayer or wish.

[7:9]  ⁵ tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 11:4; 26:2; 139:23.

[7:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “and [the one who] tests hearts and kidneys, just God.” The translation inverts the word order to improve the English style. The heart and kidneys were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.

[17:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “you tested my heart.”

[17:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “you visited [at] night.”

[17:3]  ⁹ 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.

[26:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “evaluate my kidneys and my heart.” The kidneys and heart were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.

[139:1]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.

[139:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “and know my heart.”

[139:23]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew noun שַׂרְעַפַּי (sar’apay, “concerns”) is used of “worries” in Ps 94:19.

[139:24]  ¹⁵ tn Many understand the Hebrew term עֹצֶב (’otsev) as a noun meaning “pain,” and translate the phrase דֶּרֶךְ עֹצֶב (derekh ’otsev) as “of pain,” but this makes little sense here. (Some interpret it to refer to actions which bring pain to others.) It is preferable to take עֹצֶב as “idol” (see HALOT 865 s.v. I עֹצֶב) and understand “way of an idol” to refer to idolatrous actions or tendency. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.

[139:24]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the path of antiquity.” This probably refers to the moral path prescribed by the Lord at the beginning of Israel’s history. See Jer 6:16; 18:15, as well as L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.

[22:1]  ¹⁷ sn The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. See T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 44-48. See also J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (OBT), 9-30; and J. I. Lawlor, “The Test of Abraham,” GTJ 1 (1980): 19-35.

[22:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:9]  ¹⁹ sn The expression I will say ‘It is my people,’ and they will say ‘the Lord is my God’ is reminiscent of the restoration of Israel predicted by Hosea, who said that those who had been rejected as God’s people would be reclaimed and once more become his sons and daughters (Hos 2:23).

[1:12]  ²⁰ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[1:12]  ²¹ tc Most mss ([C] P 0246 Ï) read ὁ κύριος (Jo kurio", “the Lord”) here, while others have ὁ θεός (Jo qeo", “God”; 4 33^vid 323 945 1739 al). However, several important and early witnesses (̲³ א A B Ψ 81 co) have no explicit subject. In light of the scribal tendency toward clarification, and the fact that both κύριος and θεός are well represented, there can be no doubt that the original text had no explicit subject. The referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity, not because of textual basis.

[1:1]  ²² tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ²³ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.

[4:12]  ²⁵ tn Grk “who judges your neighbor.”