Amsal 15:3

15:3 The eyes of the Lord ¹  are in every place,

keeping watch ²  on those who are evil and those who are good.

Amsal 15:2

15:2 The tongue of the wise ³  treats knowledge correctly, ⁴ 

but the mouth of the fool spouts out ⁵  folly.

Amsal 16:9

16:9 A person ⁶  plans his course, ⁷ 

but the Lord directs ⁸  his steps. ⁹ 

Ayub 31:4

31:4 Does he not see my ways

and count all my steps?

Ayub 34:21

34:21 For his eyes are on the ways of an individual,

he observes all a person’s ¹⁰  steps.

Mazmur 11:4

11:4 The Lord is in his holy temple; ¹¹ 

the Lord’s throne is in heaven. ¹² 

His eyes ¹³  watch; ¹⁴ 

his eyes ¹⁵  examine ¹⁶  all people. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 17:3

17:3 You have scrutinized my inner motives; ¹⁸ 

you have examined me during the night. ¹⁹ 

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

I am determined I will say nothing sinful. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 139:1-12

Psalm 139 ²¹ 

For the music director, a psalm of David.

139:1 O Lord, you examine me ²²  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; ²³ 

you are aware of everything I do. ²⁴ 

139:4 Certainly ²⁵  my tongue does not frame a word

without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it. ²⁶ 

139:5 You squeeze me in from behind and in front;

you place your hand on me.

139:6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension;

it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it. ²⁷ 

139:7 Where can I go to escape your spirit?

Where can I flee to escape your presence? ²⁸ 

139:8 If I were to ascend ²⁹  to heaven, you would be there.

If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be. ³⁰ 

139:9 If I were to fly away ³¹  on the wings of the dawn, ³² 

and settle down on the other side ³³  of the sea,

139:10 even there your hand would guide me,

your right hand would grab hold of me.

139:11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me, ³⁴ 

and the light will turn to night all around me,” ³⁵ 

139:12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see, ³⁶ 

and the night is as bright as ³⁷  day;

darkness and light are the same to you. ³⁸ 

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. ³⁹ 

Yeremia 17:10

17:10 I, the Lord, probe into people’s minds.

I examine people’s hearts. ⁴⁰ 

I deal with each person according to how he has behaved.

I give them what they deserve based on what they have done.

Yeremia 23:24

23:24 “Do you really think anyone can hide himself

where I cannot see him?” the Lord asks. ⁴¹ 

“Do you not know that I am everywhere?” ⁴² 

the Lord asks. ⁴³ 

Yeremia 32:19

32:19 You plan great things and you do mighty deeds. ⁴⁴  You see everything people do. ⁴⁵  You reward each of them for the way they live and for the things they do. ⁴⁶ 

Hosea 7:2

7:2 They do not realize ⁴⁷ 

that I remember all of their wicked deeds.

Their evil deeds have now surrounded them;

their sinful deeds are always before me. ⁴⁸ 

Ibrani 4:13

4:13 And no creature is hidden from God, ⁴⁹  but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

Wahyu 2:18

To the Church in Thyatira

2:18 “To ⁵⁰  the angel of the church in Thyatira write the following: ⁵¹ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ⁵²  the Son of God, the one who has eyes like a fiery flame ⁵³  and whose feet are like polished bronze: ⁵⁴ 

Wahyu 2:23

2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ⁵⁵  with a deadly disease, ⁵⁶  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ⁵⁷  each one of you ⁵⁸  what your deeds deserve. ⁵⁹ 

[15:3]  ¹ sn The proverb uses anthropomorphic language to describe God’s exacting and evaluating knowledge of all people.

[15:3]  ² tn The form צֹפוֹת (tsofot, “watching”) is a feminine plural participle agreeing with “eyes.” God’s watching eyes comfort good people but convict evil.

[15:2]  ³ sn The contrast is between the “tongue of the wise” and the “mouth of the fool.” Both expressions are metonymies of cause; the subject matter is what they say. How wise people are can be determined from what they say.

[15:2]  ⁴ tn Or “makes knowledge acceptable” (so NASB). The verb תֵּיטִיב (tetiv, Hiphil imperfect of יָטַב [yatav, “to be good”]) can be translated “to make good” or “to treat in a good [or, excellent] way” (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 303). M. Dahood, however, suggests emending the text to תֵּיטִיף (tetif) which is a cognate of נָטַף (nataf, “drip”), and translates “tongues of the sages drip with knowledge” (Proverbs and Northwest Semitic Philology, 32-33). But this change is gratuitous and unnecessary.

[15:2]  ⁵ sn The Hiphil verb יַבִּיעַ (yabia’) means “to pour out; to emit; to cause to bubble; to belch forth.” The fool bursts out with reckless utterances (cf. TEV “spout nonsense”).

[16:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “the heart of a man.” This stresses that it is within the heart that plans are made. Only those plans that are approved by God will succeed.

[16:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “his way” (so KJV, NASB).

[16:9]  ⁸ tn The verb כּוּן (kun, “to establish; to confirm”) with צַעַד (tsa’ad, “step”) means “to direct” (e.g., Ps 119:133; Jer 10:23). This contrasts what people plan and what actually happens – God determines the latter.

[16:9]  ⁹ sn “Steps” is an implied comparison, along with “way,” to indicate the events of the plan as they work out.

[34:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his”; the referent (a person) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:4]  ¹¹ tn Because of the royal imagery involved here, one could translate “lofty palace.” The Lord’s heavenly temple is in view here (see Mic 1:2-4).

[11:4]  ¹² sn The Lord’s throne is in heaven. The psalmist is confident that the Lord reigns as sovereign king, “keeps an eye on” all people, and responds in a just manner to the godly and wicked.

[11:4]  ¹³ sn His eyes. The anthropomorphic language draws attention to God’s awareness of and interest in the situation on earth. Though the enemies are hidden by the darkness (v. 2), the Lord sees all.

[11:4]  ¹⁴ tn The two Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this verse describe the Lord’s characteristic activity.

[11:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “eyelids.”

[11:4]  ¹⁶ tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 7:9; 26:2; 139:23.

[11:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “test the sons of men.”

[17:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “you tested my heart.”

[17:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “you visited [at] night.”

[17:3]  ²⁰ 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.

[139:1]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.

[139:3]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “all my ways.”

[139:4]  ²⁵ tn Or “for.”

[139:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “look, O Lord, you know all of it.”

[139:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “too amazing [is this] knowledge for me, it is elevated, I cannot attain to it.”

[139:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Where can I go from your spirit, and where from your face can I flee?” God’s “spirit” may refer here (1) to his presence (note the parallel term, “your face,” and see Ps 104:29-30, where God’s “face” is his presence and his “spirit” is the life-giving breath he imparts) or (2) to his personal Spirit (see Ps 51:10).

[139:8]  ²⁹ tn The Hebrew verb סָלַק (salaq, “to ascend”) occurs only here in the OT, but the word is well-attested in Aramaic literature from different time periods and displays a wide semantic range (see DNWSI 2:788-90).

[139:8]  ³⁰ tn Heb “look, you.”

[139:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “rise up.”

[139:9]  ³² sn On the wings of the dawn. This personification of the “dawn” may find its roots in mythological traditions about the god Shachar, whose birth is described in an Ugaritic myth (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 126) and who is mentioned in Isa 14:12 as the father of Helel.

[139:9]  ³³ tn Heb “at the end.”

[139:11]  ³⁴ tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּף (shuf), which means “to crush; to wound,” in Gen 3:15 and Job 9:17, is problematic here. For a discussion of attempts to relate the verb to Arabic roots, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 251. Many emend the form to יְשׂוּכֵּנִי (yesukkeniy), from the root שׂכך (“to cover,” an alternate form of סכך), a reading assumed in the present translation.

[139:11]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and night, light, around me.”

[139:12]  ³⁶ tn The words “to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[139:12]  ³⁷ tn Heb “shines like.”

[139:12]  ³⁸ tn Heb “like darkness, like light.”

[16:17]  ³⁹ 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.”

[17:10]  ⁴⁰ tn The term rendered “mind” here and in the previous verse is actually the Hebrew word for “heart.” However, in combination with the word rendered “heart” in the next line, which is the Hebrew for “kidneys,” it is best rendered “mind” because the “heart” was considered the center of intellect, conscience, and will and the “kidneys” the center of emotions.

[17:10]  sn For an earlier reference to this motif see Jer 11:20. For a later reference see Jer 20:12. See also Ps 17:2-3.

[23:24]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:24]  ⁴² tn The words “Don’t you know” are not in the text. They are a way of conveying the idea that the question which reads literally “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” expects a positive answer. They follow the pattern used at the beginning of the previous two questions and continue that thought. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:24]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[32:19]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “[you are] great in counsel and mighty in deed.”

[32:19]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “your eyes are open to the ways of the sons of men.”

[32:19]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “giving to each according to his way [= behavior/conduct] and according to the fruit of his deeds.”

[7:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and they do not say in their heart”; TEV “It never enters their heads.”

[7:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “they [the sinful deeds] are before my face” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NCV “they are right in front of me.”

[4:13]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:18]  ⁵⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[2:18]  ⁵¹ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[2:18]  ⁵² tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[2:18]  sn The expression This is the solemn pronouncement of reflects an OT idiom. See the note on this phrase in 2:1.

[2:18]  ⁵³ tn Grk “a flame of fire.” The Greek term πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:18]  ⁵⁴ tn The precise meaning of the term translated “polished bronze” (χαλκολιβάνῳ, calkolibanw), which appears no where else in Greek literature outside of the book of Revelation (see 1:15), is uncertain. Without question it is some sort of metal. BDAG 1076 s.v. χαλκολίβανον suggests “fine brass/bronze.” L&N 2.57 takes the word to refer to particularly valuable or fine bronze, but notes that the emphasis here and in Rev 1:15 is more on the lustrous quality of the metal.

[2:23]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

[2:23]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “I will kill with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

[2:23]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

[2:23]  ⁵⁸ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

[2:23]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”