Mazmur 17:3

17:3 You have scrutinized my inner motives; ¹ 

you have examined me during the night. ² 

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

I am determined I will say nothing sinful. ³ 

Mazmur 44:21

44:21 would not God discover it,

for he knows ⁴  one’s thoughts? ⁵ 

Mazmur 139:1

Psalm 139 ⁶ 

For the music director, a psalm of David.

139:1 O Lord, you examine me ⁷  and know.

Mazmur 139:1

Psalm 139 ⁸ 

For the music director, a psalm of David.

139:1 O Lord, you examine me ⁹  and know.

1 Samuel 16:7

16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t be impressed by ¹⁰  his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. ¹¹  People look on the outward appearance, ¹²  but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:1

Samuel Anoints David as King

16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long do you intend to mourn for Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. ¹³  Fill your horn with olive oil and go! I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem, ¹⁴  for I have selected a king for myself from among his sons.” ¹⁵ 

1 Samuel 28:9

28:9 But the woman said to him, “Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed ¹⁶  the mediums and magicians ¹⁷  from the land! Why are you trapping me ¹⁸  so you can put me to death?”

Yeremia 11:20

11:20 So I said to the Lord, ¹⁹ 

“O Lord who rules over all, ²⁰  you are a just judge!

You examine people’s hearts and minds. ²¹ 

I want to see you pay them back for what they have done

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.” ²² 

Yeremia 17:10

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

I examine people’s hearts. ²³ 

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

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

Yeremia 20:12

20:12 O Lord who rules over all, ²⁴  you test and prove the righteous.

You see into people’s hearts and minds. ²⁵ 

Pay them back for what they have done

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.

Wahyu 2:23

2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ²⁶  with a deadly disease, ²⁷  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ²⁸  each one of you ²⁹  what your deeds deserve. ³⁰ 

[17:3]  ¹ tn Heb “you tested my heart.”

[17:3]  ² tn Heb “you visited [at] night.”

[17:3]  ³ 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.

[44:21]  ⁴ tn The active participle describes what is characteristically true.

[44:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “would not God search out this, for he knows the hidden things of [the] heart?” The expression “search out” is used metonymically here, referring to discovery, the intended effect of a search. The “heart” (i.e., mind) is here viewed as the seat of one’s thoughts. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he would!” The point seems to be this: There is no way the Israelites who are the speakers in the psalm would reject God and turn to another god, for the omniscient God would easily discover such a sin.

[139:1]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.

[139:1]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.

[16:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “don’t look toward.”

[16:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for not that which the man sees.” The translation follows the LXX, which reads, “for not as man sees does God see.” The MT has suffered from homoioteleuton or homoioarcton. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 274.

[16:7]  ¹² tn Heb “to the eyes.”

[16:1]  ¹³ tc The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek translation includes the following words: “And the Lord said to Samuel.”

[16:1]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[16:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for I have seen among his sons for me a king.”

[28:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “how he has cut off.”

[28:9]  ¹⁷ tn See the note at v. 3.

[28:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “my life.”

[11:20]  ¹⁹ tn The words “So I said to the Lord” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show the shift in address.

[11:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[11:20]  sn For the significance of the term see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.

[11:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “Lord of armies, just judge, tester of kidneys and heart.” The sentence has been broken up to avoid a long and complex English sentence. The translation is more in keeping with contemporary English style. In Hebrew thought the “kidneys” were thought of as the seat of the emotions and passions and the “heart” was viewed as the seat of intellect, conscience, and will. The “heart” and the “kidneys” are often used figuratively for the thoughts, emotions, motives, and drives that are thought to be seated in them.

[11:20]  ²² tn Heb “Let me see your retribution [i.e., see you exact retribution] from them because I reveal my cause [i.e., plea for justice] to you.”

[17:10]  ²³ 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.

[20:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[20:12]  sn See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of this title for God.

[20:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Lord of armies, the one who tests the righteous, who sees kidneys and heart.” The sentence has been broken up to avoid a long and complex English sentence. The translation is more in keeping with contemporary English style.

[20:12]  sn This verse is almost an exact duplication of the petition in one of Jeremiah’s earlier prayers and complaints. See Jer 11:20 and notes there for explanation of the Hebrew psychology underlying the use of “kidneys and heart” here. For the thoughts expressed here see Ps 17.

[2:23]  ²⁶ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

[2:23]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

[2:23]  ²⁹ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

[2:23]  ³⁰ tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”