Mazmur 10:11

10:11 He says to himself, ¹ 

“God overlooks it;

he does not pay attention;

he never notices.” ² 

Mazmur 50:21

50:21 When you did these things, I was silent, ³ 

so you thought I was exactly like you. ⁴ 

But now I will condemn ⁵  you

and state my case against you! ⁶ 

Mazmur 139:1-4

Psalm 139 ⁷ 

For the music director, a psalm of David.

139:1 O Lord, you examine me ⁸  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; ⁹ 

you are aware of everything I do. ¹⁰ 

139:4 Certainly ¹¹  my tongue does not frame a word

without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it. ¹² 

[10:11]  ¹ tn Heb “he says in his heart.” See v. 6.

[10:11]  ² tn Heb “God forgets, he hides his face, he never sees.”

[50:21]  ³ tn Heb “these things you did and I was silent.” Some interpret the second clause (“and I was silent”) as a rhetorical question expecting a negative answer, “[When you do these things], should I keep silent?” (cf. NEB). See GKC 335 §112.cc.

[50:21]  sn The Lord was silent in the sense that he delayed punishment. Of course, God’s patience toward sinners eventually runs out. The divine “silence” is only temporary (see v. 3, where the psalmist, having described God’s arrival, observes that “he is not silent”).

[50:21]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew infinitive construct (הֱיוֹת, heyot) appears to function like the infinitive absolute here, adding emphasis to the following finite verbal form (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh). See GKC 339-40 §113.a. Some prefer to emend הֱיוֹת (heyot) to the infinitive absolute form הָיוֹ (hayo).

[50:21]  ⁵ tn Or “rebuke” (see v. 8).

[50:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “and I will set in order [my case against you] to your eyes.” The cohortative form expresses the Lord’s resolve to accuse and judge the wicked.

[139:1]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.

[139:3]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all my ways.”

[139:4]  ¹¹ tn Or “for.”

[139:4]  ¹² tn Heb “look, O Lord, you know all of it.”