Ayub 10:4

Motivations of God

10:4 “Do you have eyes of flesh, ¹ 

or do you see ²  as a human being sees? ³ 

Mazmur 139:1-3

Psalm 139 ⁴ 

For the music director, a psalm of David.

139:1 O Lord, you examine me ⁵  and know.

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

even from far away you understand my motives.

139:3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; ⁶ 

you are aware of everything I do. ⁷ 

Amsal 5:21

5:21 For the ways of a person ⁸  are in front of the Lord’s eyes,

and the Lord ⁹  weighs ¹⁰  all that person’s ¹¹  paths.

Yeremia 16:17

16:17 For I see everything they do. Their wicked ways are not hidden from me. Their sin is not hidden away where I cannot see it. ¹² 

[10:4]  ¹ tn Here “flesh” is the sign of humanity. The expression “eyes of flesh” means essentially “human eyes,” i.e., the outlook and vision of humans.

[10:4]  ² sn The verb translated “see” could also include the figurative category of perceive as well. The answer to Job’s question is found in 1 Sam 16:7: “The Lord sees not as a man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

[10:4]  ³ sn In this verse Job asks whether or not God is liable to making mistakes or errors of judgment. He wonders if God has no more insight than his friends have. Of course, the questions are rhetorical, for he knows otherwise. But his point is that God seems to be making a big mistake here.

[139:1]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.

[139:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “my traveling and my lying down you measure.” The verb זָרָה (zarah, “to measure”) is probably here a denominative from זָרָת (zarat, “a span; a measure”), though some derive it from זָרָה (zarat, “to winnow; to sift”; see BDB 279-80 s.v. זָרָה).

[139:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “all my ways.”

[5:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “man.”

[5:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:21]  ¹⁰ tn BDB 814 s.v. פָּלַס 2 suggests that the participle מְפַּלֵּס (mÿpalles) means “to make level [or, straight].” As one’s ways are in front of the eyes of the Lord, they become straight or right. It could be translated “weighs” since it is a denominative from the noun for “balance, scale”; the Lord weighs or examines the actions.

[5:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all his”; the referent (the person mentioned in the first half of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:17]  ¹² tn Heb “For my eyes are upon all their ways. They are not hidden from before me. And their sin is not hidden away from before my eyes.”