Mazmur 59:7

59:7 Look, they hurl insults at me

and openly threaten to kill me, ¹ 

for they say, ² 

“Who hears?”

Mazmur 73:11

73:11 They say, “How does God know what we do?

Is the sovereign one aware of what goes on?” ³ 

Mazmur 94:7-9

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

the God of Jacob does not take notice of it.” ⁴ 

94:8 Take notice of this, ⁵  you ignorant people! ⁶ 

You fools, when will you ever understand?

94:9 Does the one who makes the human ear not hear?

Does the one who forms the human eye not see? ⁷ 

[59:7]  ¹ tn Heb “look, they gush forth with their mouth, swords [are] in their lips.”

[59:7]  ² tn The words “for they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The following question (“Who hears?”) is spoken by the psalmist’s enemies, who are confident that no one else can hear their threats against the psalmist. They are aggressive because they feel the psalmist is vulnerable and has no one to help him.

[73:11]  ³ tn Heb “How does God know? Is there knowledge with the Most High?” They appear to be practical atheists, who acknowledge God’s existence and sovereignty in theory, but deny his involvement in the world (see Pss 10:4, 11; 14:1).

[94:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “does not understand.”

[94:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “understand.” The verb used in v. 7 is repeated here for rhetorical effect. The people referred to here claim God is ignorant of their actions, but the psalmist corrects their faulty viewpoint.

[94:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “[you] brutish among the people.”

[94:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “The one who plants an ear, does he not hear? The one who forms an eye, does he not see?”