Mazmur 11:4

11:4 The Lord is in his holy temple; ¹ 

the Lord’s throne is in heaven. ² 

His eyes ³  watch; ⁴ 

his eyes ⁵  examine ⁶  all people. ⁷ 

Mazmur 17:3

17:3 You have scrutinized my inner motives; ⁸ 

you have examined me during the night. ⁹ 

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

I am determined I will say nothing sinful. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 139:1-12

Psalm 139 ¹¹ 

For the music director, a psalm of David.

139:1 O Lord, you examine me ¹²  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; ¹³ 

you are aware of everything I do. ¹⁴ 

139:4 Certainly ¹⁵  my tongue does not frame a word

without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it. ¹⁶ 

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. ¹⁷ 

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

Where can I flee to escape your presence? ¹⁸ 

139:8 If I were to ascend ¹⁹  to heaven, you would be there.

If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be. ²⁰ 

139:9 If I were to fly away ²¹  on the wings of the dawn, ²² 

and settle down on the other side ²³  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, ²⁴ 

and the light will turn to night all around me,” ²⁵ 

139:12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see, ²⁶ 

and the night is as bright as ²⁷  day;

darkness and light are the same to you. ²⁸ 

[11:4]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn The two Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this verse describe the Lord’s characteristic activity.

[11:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “eyelids.”

[11:4]  ⁶ tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 7:9; 26:2; 139:23.

[11:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “test the sons of men.”

[17:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “you tested my heart.”

[17:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “you visited [at] night.”

[17:3]  ¹⁰ 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]  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.

[139:3]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “all my ways.”

[139:4]  ¹⁵ tn Or “for.”

[139:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “look, O Lord, you know all of it.”

[139:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “too amazing [is this] knowledge for me, it is elevated, I cannot attain to it.”

[139:7]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Heb “look, you.”

[139:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “rise up.”

[139:9]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Heb “at the end.”

[139:11]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and night, light, around me.”

[139:12]  ²⁶ tn The words “to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[139:12]  ²⁷ tn Heb “shines like.”

[139:12]  ²⁸ tn Heb “like darkness, like light.”