2 Kings 21:1-26 
Context21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 1 His mother 2 was Hephzibah. 21:2 He did evil in the sight of 3 the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations 4 whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites. 21:3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he set up altars for Baal and made an Asherah pole just like King Ahab of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the stars in the sky 5 and worshiped 6 them. 21:4 He built altars in the Lord’s temple, about which the Lord had said, “Jerusalem will be my home.” 7 21:5 In the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple he built altars for all the stars in the sky. 21:6 He passed his son 8 through the fire 9 and practiced divination and omen reading. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits, and appointed magicians to supervise it. 10 He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 11 21:7 He put an idol of Asherah he had made in the temple, about which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home. 12 21:8 I will not make Israel again leave the land I gave to their ancestors, 13 provided that they carefully obey all I commanded them, the whole law my servant Moses ordered them to obey.” 21:9 But they did not obey, 14 and Manasseh misled them so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed from before the Israelites.
21:10 So the Lord announced through 15 his servants the prophets: 21:11 “King Manasseh of Judah has committed horrible sins. 16 He has sinned more than the Amorites before him and has encouraged Judah to sin by worshiping his disgusting idols. 17 21:12 So this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I am about to bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. The news will reverberate in the ears of those who hear about it. 18 21:13 I will destroy Jerusalem the same way I did Samaria 19 and the dynasty of Ahab. 20 I will wipe Jerusalem clean, just as one wipes a plate on both sides. 21 21:14 I will abandon this last remaining tribe among my people 22 and hand them over to their enemies; they will be plundered and robbed by all their enemies, 23 21:15 because they have done evil in my sight 24 and have angered me from the time their ancestors left Egypt right up to this very day!’”
21:16 Furthermore Manasseh killed so many innocent people, he stained Jerusalem with their blood from end to end, 25 in addition to encouraging Judah to sin by doing evil in the sight of the Lord. 26
21:17 The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign and all his accomplishments, as well as the sinful acts he committed, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 27 21:18 Manasseh passed away 28 and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzzah, and his son Amon replaced him as king.
21:19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. 29 His mother 30 was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz, from Jotbah. 21:20 He did evil in the sight of 31 the Lord, just like his father Manasseh had done. 21:21 He followed in the footsteps of his father 32 and worshiped and bowed down to the disgusting idols 33 which his father had worshiped. 34 21:22 He abandoned the Lord God of his ancestors and did not follow the Lord’s instructions. 35 21:23 Amon’s servants conspired against him and killed the king in his palace. 21:24 The people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they 36 made his son Josiah king in his place.
21:25 The rest of Amon’s accomplishments are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 37 21:26 He was buried 38 in his tomb in the garden of Uzzah, and his son Josiah replaced him as king.
Hebrews 3:1-19
Context3:1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, 39 partners in a heavenly calling, take note of Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess, 40 3:2 who is faithful to the one who appointed him, as Moses was also in God’s 41 house. 42 3:3 For he has come to deserve greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves greater honor than the house itself! 3:4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. 3:5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s 43 house 44 as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken. 3:6 But Christ 45 is faithful as a son over God’s 46 house. We are of his house, 47 if in fact we hold firmly 48 to our confidence and the hope we take pride in. 49
3:7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, 50
“Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks! 51
3:8 “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness.
3:9 “There your fathers tested me and tried me, 52 and they saw my works for forty years.
3:10 “Therefore, I became provoked at that generation and said, ‘Their hearts are always wandering 53 and they have not known my ways.’
3:11 “As I swore in my anger, ‘They will never enter my rest!’” 54
3:12 See to it, 55 brothers and sisters, 56 that none of you has 57 an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes 58 the living God. 59 3:13 But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” that none of you may become hardened by sin’s deception. 3:14 For we have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial confidence 60 firm until the end. 3:15 As it says, 61 “Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks! 62 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” 63 3:16 For which ones heard and rebelled? Was it not all who came out of Egypt under Moses’ leadership? 64 3:17 And against whom was God 65 provoked for forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness? 66 3:18 And to whom did he swear they would never enter into his rest, except those who were disobedient? 3:19 So 67 we see that they could not enter because of unbelief.
Hosea 14:1-9
Context14:1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for your sin has been your downfall! 68
14:2 Return to the Lord and repent! 69
Say to him: “Completely 70 forgive our iniquity;
accept 71 our penitential prayer, 72
that we may offer the praise of our lips as sacrificial bulls. 73
14:3 Assyria cannot save us;
we will not ride warhorses.
We will never again say, ‘Our gods’
to what our own hands have made.
For only you will show compassion to Orphan Israel!” 74
14:4 “I will heal their waywardness 75
and love them freely, 76
for my anger will turn 77 away from them.
14:5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily,
he will send down his roots like a cedar of 78 Lebanon.
14:6 His young shoots will grow;
his splendor will be like an olive tree,
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
14:7 People will reside again 79 in his shade;
they will plant and harvest grain in abundance. 80
They will blossom like a vine,
and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.
14:8 O Ephraim, I do not want to have anything to do 81 with idols anymore!
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like 82 a luxuriant cypress tree; 83
your fruitfulness comes from me! 84
14:9 Who is wise?
Let him discern 85 these things!
Who is discerning?
Let him understand them!
For the ways of the Lord are right;
the godly walk in them,
but in them the rebellious stumble.
Psalms 139:1-24
ContextFor the music director, a psalm of David.
139:1 O Lord, you examine me 87 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; 88
you are aware of everything I do. 89
139:4 Certainly 90 my tongue does not frame a word
without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it. 91
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. 92
139:7 Where can I go to escape your spirit?
Where can I flee to escape your presence? 93
139:8 If I were to ascend 94 to heaven, you would be there.
If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be. 95
139:9 If I were to fly away 96 on the wings of the dawn, 97
and settle down on the other side 98 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, 99
and the light will turn to night all around me,” 100
139:12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see, 101
and the night is as bright as 102 day;
darkness and light are the same to you. 103
139:13 Certainly 104 you made my mind and heart; 105
you wove me together 106 in my mother’s womb.
139:14 I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing. 107
You knew me thoroughly; 108
139:15 my bones were not hidden from you,
when 109 I was made in secret
and sewed together in the depths of the earth. 110
139:16 Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb. 111
All the days ordained for me
were recorded in your scroll
before one of them came into existence. 112
139:17 How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God! 113
How vast is their sum total! 114
139:18 If I tried to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
Even if I finished counting them,
I would still have to contend with you. 115
139:19 If only 116 you would kill the wicked, O God!
Get away from me, you violent men! 117
139:20 They 118 rebel against you 119 and act deceitfully; 120
your enemies lie. 121
139:21 O Lord, do I not hate those who hate you,
and despise those who oppose you? 122
139:22 I absolutely hate them, 123
they have become my enemies!
139:23 Examine me, and probe my thoughts! 124
Test me, and know my concerns! 125
139:24 See if there is any idolatrous tendency 126 in me,
and lead me in the reliable ancient path! 127
1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
2 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
3 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
4 tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”
5 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 17:16.
6 tn Or “served.”
7 tn Heb “In Jerusalem I will place my name.”
8 tc The LXX has the plural “his sons” here.
9 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 16:3.
10 tn Heb “and he set up a ritual pit, along with conjurers.” The Hebrew אוֹב (’ov), “ritual pit,” refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a בַעֲלַת אוֹב (ba’alat ’ov), “owner of a ritual pit.” See H. Hoffner, “Second millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967), 385-401.
11 tc Heb “and he multiplied doing what is evil in the eyes of the
12 tn Heb “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I chose from all the tribes of Israel, I will place my name perpetually (or perhaps “forever”).”
13 tn Heb “I will not again make the feet of Israel wander from the land which I gave to their fathers.”
14 tn Heb “listen.”
15 tn Heb “spoke by the hand of.”
16 tn Heb “these horrible sins.”
17 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
18 tn Heb “so that everyone who hears it, his two ears will quiver.”
19 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
20 tn Heb “I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab.” The measuring line and plumb line are normally used in building a structure, not tearing it down. But here they are used ironically as metaphors of judgment, emphasizing that he will give careful attention to the task of judgment.
21 tn Heb “just as one wipes a plate, wiping and turning [it] on its face.” The word picture emphasizes how thoroughly the Lord will judge the city.
22 tn Heb “the remnant of my inheritance.” In this context the Lord’s remnant is the tribe of Judah, which had been preserved when the Assyrians conquered and deported the northern tribes. See 17:18 and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 269.
23 tn Heb “they will become plunder and spoils of war for all their enemies.”
24 tn Heb “in my eyes.”
25 tn Heb “and also Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, until he filled Jerusalem from mouth to mouth.”
26 tn Heb “apart from his sin which he caused Judah to commit, by doing what is evil in the eyes of the
27 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Manasseh, and all which he did, and his sin which he committed, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
28 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
29 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
30 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
31 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
32 tn Heb “walked in all the way which his father walked.”
33 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
34 tn Heb “and he served the disgusting idols which his father served and he bowed down to them.”
35 tn Heb “and did not walk in the way of the
36 tn Heb “the people of the land.” The pronoun “they” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid the repetition of the phrase “the people of the land” from the beginning of the verse.
37 tc Heb “As for the rest of the things of Amon which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?” Many Hebrew
38 tn Heb “he buried him.” Here “he” probably refers to Amon’s son Josiah.
39 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.
40 tn Grk “of our confession.”
41 tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.
42 tc ‡ The reading adopted by the translation follows a few early
43 tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.
44 sn A quotation from Num 12:7.
45 sn The Greek makes the contrast between v. 5 and v. 6a more emphatic and explicit than is easily done in English.
46 tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.
47 tn Grk “whose house we are,” continuing the previous sentence.
48 tc The reading adopted by the translation is found in Ì13,46 B sa, while the vast majority of
49 tn Grk “the pride of our hope.”
50 sn The following quotation is from Ps 95:7b-11.
51 tn Grk “today if you hear his voice.”
52 tn Grk “tested me by trial.”
53 tn Grk “they are wandering in the heart.”
54 tn Grk “if they shall enter my rest,” a Hebrew idiom expressing an oath that something will certainly not happen.
55 tn Or “take care.”
56 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.
57 tn Grk “that there not be in any of you.”
58 tn Or “deserts,” “rebels against.”
59 tn Grk “in forsaking the living God.”
60 tn Grk “the beginning of the confidence.”
61 tn Grk “while it is said.”
62 tn Grk “today if you hear his voice.”
63 sn A quotation from Ps 95:7b-8.
64 tn Grk “through Moses.”
65 tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.
66 sn An allusion to God’s judgment pronounced in Num 14:29, 32.
67 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate a summary or conclusion to the argument of the preceding paragraph.
68 tn Heb “For you have stumbled in your iniquity”; NASB, NRSV “because of your iniquity.”
69 tn Heb “Take words with you and return to the
70 tn The word order כָּל־תִּשָּׂא עָוֹן (kol-tisa’ ’avon) is syntactically awkward. The BHS editors suggest rearranging the word order: תִּשָּׂא כָּל־עוֹן (“Forgive all [our] iniquity!”). However, Gesenius suggests that כָּל (“all”) does not function as the construct in the genitive phrase כָּל־עוֹן (“all [our] iniquity”); it functions adverbially modifying the verb תִּשָּׂא (“Completely forgive!”; see GKC 415 §128.e).
71 sn The repetition of the root לָקַח (laqakh) creates a striking wordplay in 14:2. If Israel will bring (לָקַח) its confession to God, he will accept (לָקַח) repentant Israel and completely forgive its sin.
72 tn Heb “and accept [our] speech.” The word טוֹב (tov) is often confused with the common homonymic root I טוֹב (tov, “good”; BDB 373 s.v. I טוֹב). However, this is probably IV טוֹב (tov, “word, speech”; HALOT 372 s.v. IV טוֹב), a hapax legomenon that is related to the verb טבב (“to speak”; HALOT 367 s.v. טבב) and the noun טִבָּה (tibbah, “rumor”; HALOT 367 s.v. טִבָּה). The term טוֹב (“word; speech”) refers to the repentant prayer mentioned in 14:1-3. Most translations relate it to I טוֹב and treat it as (1) accusative direct object: “accept that which is good” (RSV, NJPS), “Accept our good sacrifices” (CEV), or (2) adverbial accusative of manner: “receive [us] graciously” (KJV, NASB, NIV). Note TEV, however, which follows the suggestion made here: “accept our prayer.”
73 tc The MT reads פָרִים (farim, “bulls”), but the LXX reflects פְּרִי (pÿri, “fruit”), a reading followed by NASB, NIV, NRSV: “that we may offer the fruit of [our] lips [as sacrifices to you].” Although the Greek expression in Heb 13:15 (καρπὸν χειλέων, karpon xeilewn, “the fruit of lips”) reflects this LXX phrase, the MT makes good sense as it stands; NT usage of the LXX should not be considered decisive in resolving OT textual problems. The noun פָרִים (parim, “bulls”) functions as an adverbial accusative of state.
74 tn Heb “For the orphan is shown compassion by you.” The present translation takes “orphan” as a figurative reference to Israel, which is specified in the translation for clarity.
75 sn The noun מְשׁוּבָתָה (mÿshuvatah, “waywardness”; cf. KJV “backsliding”) is from the same root as שׁוּבָה (shuvah, “return!”) in 14:1[2]. This repetition of שׁוּב (shuv) creates a wordplay which emphasizes reciprocity: if Israel will return (שׁוּבָה, shuvah) to the
76 tn The noun נְדָבָה (nÿdavah, “voluntariness; free-will offering”) is an adverbial accusative of manner: “freely, voluntarily” (BDB 621 s.v. נְדָבָה 1). Cf. CEV “without limit”; TEV “with all my heart”; NLT “my love will know no bounds.”
77 sn The verb שָׁב, shav, “will turn” (Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular from שׁוּב, shuv, “to turn”) continues the wordplay on שׁוּב in 14:1-4[2-5]. If Israel will “return” (שׁוּב) to the
78 tn Heb “like Lebanon” (so KJV; also in the following verse). The phrase “a cedar of” does not appear in the Hebrew text; it is supplied in translation for clarity. Cf. TEV “the trees of Lebanon”; NRSV “the forests of Lebanon.”
79 tn Hosea uses the similar-sounding terms יָשֻׁבוּ יֹשְׁבֵי (yashuvu yoshve, “the dwellers will return”) to create a wordplay between the roots שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”) and יָשַׁב (yashav, “to dwell; to reside”).
80 tn Heb “they will cause the grain to live” or “they will revive the grain.” Some English versions treat this as a comparison: “they shall revive as the corn” (KJV); “will flourish like the grain” (NIV).
81 tn The Hebrew expression מַה־לִּי עוֹד (mah-li ’od) is a formula of repudiation/emphatic denial that God has anything in common with idols: “I want to have nothing to do with […] any more!” Cf., e.g., Judg 11:12; 2 Sam 16:10; 19:23; 1 Kgs 17:18; 2 Kgs 3:13; 2 Chr 35:21; Jer 2:18; Ps 50:16; BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d.(c).
82 tn The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity, as in the majority of English versions (including KJV).
83 tn Cf. KJV “a green fir tree”; NIV, NCV “a green pine tree”; NRSV “an evergreen cypress.”
84 tn Heb “your fruit is found in me”; NRSV “your faithfulness comes from me.”
85 tn The shortened form of the prefix-conjugation verb וְיָבֵן (vÿyaven) indicates that it is a jussive rather than an imperfect. When a jussive comes from a superior to an inferior, it may connote exhortation and instruction or advice and counsel. For the functions of the jussive, see IBHS 568-70 §34.3.
86 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.
87 tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.
88 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).
89 tn Heb “all my ways.”
90 tn Or “for.”
91 tn Heb “look, O
92 tn Heb “too amazing [is this] knowledge for me, it is elevated, I cannot attain to it.”
93 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).
94 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).
95 tn Heb “look, you.”
96 tn Heb “rise up.”
97 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.
98 tn Heb “at the end.”
99 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.
100 tn Heb “and night, light, around me.”
101 tn The words “to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
102 tn Heb “shines like.”
103 tn Heb “like darkness, like light.”
104 tn Or “for.”
105 tn Heb “my kidneys.” The kidneys were sometimes viewed as the seat of one’s emotions and moral character (cf. Pss 7:9; 26:2). A number of translations, recognizing that “kidneys” does not communicate this idea to the modern reader, have generalized the concept: “inmost being” (NAB, NIV); “inward parts” (NASB, NRSV); “the delicate, inner parts of my body” (NLT). In the last instance, the focus is almost entirely on the physical body rather than the emotions or moral character. The present translation, by using a hendiadys (one concept expressed through two terms), links the concepts of emotion (heart) and moral character (mind).
106 tn The Hebrew verb סָכַךְ (sakhakh, “to weave together”) is an alternate form of שָׂכַךְ (sakhakh, “to weave”) used in Job 10:11.
107 tc Heb “because awesome things, I am distinct, amazing [are] your works.” The text as it stands is syntactically problematic and makes little, if any, sense. The Niphal of פָּלָה (pala’) occurs elsewhere only in Exod 33:16. Many take the form from פָלָא (pala’; see GKC 216 §75.qq), which in the Niphal perfect means “to be amazing” (see 2 Sam 1:26; Ps 118:23; Prov 30:18). Some, following the LXX and some other ancient witnesses, also prefer to emend the verb from first to second person, “you are amazing” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 249, 251). The present translation assumes the text conflates two variants: נפלאים, the otherwise unattested masculine plural participle of פָלָא, and נִפְלָאוֹת (nifla’ot), the usual (feminine) plural form of the Niphal participle. The latter has been changed to a verb by later scribes in an attempt to accommodate it syntactically. The original text likely read, נוראות נפלאותים מעשׂיך (“your works [are] awesome [and] amazing”).
108 tc Heb “and my being knows very much.” Better parallelism is achieved (see v. 15a) if one emends יֹדַעַת (yoda’at), a Qal active participle, feminine singular form, to יָדַעְתָּ (yada’ta), a Qal perfect second masculine singular perfect. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 252.
109 tc The Hebrew term אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) should probably be emended to כֲּאַשֶׁר (ka’asher, “when”). The kaf (כ) may have been lost by haplography (note the kaf at the end of the preceding form).
110 sn The phrase depths of the earth may be metaphorical (euphemistic) or it may reflect a prescientific belief about the origins of the embryo deep beneath the earth’s surface (see H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 96-97). Job 1:21 also closely associates the mother’s womb with the earth.
111 tn Heb “Your eyes saw my shapeless form.” The Hebrew noun גֹּלֶם (golem) occurs only here in the OT. In later Hebrew the word refers to “a lump, a shapeless or lifeless substance,” and to “unfinished matter, a vessel wanting finishing” (Jastrow 222 s.v. גּוֹלֶם). The translation employs the dynamic rendering “when I was inside the womb” to clarify that the speaker was still in his mother’s womb at the time he was “seen” by God.
112 tn Heb “and on your scroll all of them were written, [the] days [which] were formed, and [there was] not one among them.” This “scroll” may be the “scroll of life” mentioned in Ps 69:28 (see the note on the word “living” there).
113 tn Heb “and to me how precious are your thoughts, O God.” The Hebrew verb יָקַר (yaqar) probably has the sense of “difficult [to comprehend]” here (see HALOT 432 s.v. יקר qal.1 and note the use of Aramaic יַקִּר in Dan 2:11). Elsewhere in the immediate context the psalmist expresses his amazement at the extent of God’s knowledge about him (see vv. 1-6, 17b-18).
114 tn Heb “how vast are their heads.” Here the Hebrew word “head” is used of the “sum total” of God’s knowledge of the psalmist.
115 tc Heb “I awake and I [am] still with you.” A reference to the psalmist awaking from sleep makes little, if any, sense contextually. For this reason some propose an emendation to הֲקִצּוֹתִי (haqitsoti), a Hiphil perfect form from an otherwise unattested verb קָצַץ (qatsats) understood as a denominative of קֵץ (qets, “end”). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 252-53.
116 tn The Hebrew particle אִם (’im, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (see Pss 81:8; 95:7, as well as GKC 321 §109.b).
117 tn Heb “men of bloodshed.”
118 tn Heb “who.”
119 tc Heb “they speak [of] you.” The suffixed form of the verb אָמַר (’amar, “to speak”) is peculiar. The translation assumes an emendation to יַמְרֻךָ (yamrukha), a Hiphil form from מָרָה (marah, “to rebel”; see Ps 78:40).
120 tn Heb “by deceit.”
121 tc Heb “lifted up for emptiness, your cities.” The Hebrew text as it stands makes no sense. The form נָשֻׂא (nasu’; a Qal passive participle) should be emended to נָשְׂאוּ (nosÿu; a Qal perfect, third common plural, “[they] lift up”). Many emend עָרֶיךָ (’arekha, “your cities”) to עָלֶיךָ (’alekha, “against you”), but it is preferable to understand the noun as an Aramaism and translate “your enemies” (see Dan 4:16 and L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 253).
122 tc Heb “who raise themselves up against you.” The form וּבִתְקוֹמְמֶיךָ (uvitqomÿmekha) should be emended to וּבְמִתְקוֹמְמֶיךָ (uvÿmitqomÿmekha), a Hitpolel participle (the prefixed mem [מ] of the participle is accidentally omitted in the MT, though a few medieval Hebrew
123 tn Heb “[with] completeness of hatred I hate them.”
124 tn Heb “and know my heart.”
125 tn The Hebrew noun שַׂרְעַפַּי (sar’apay, “concerns”) is used of “worries” in Ps 94:19.
126 tn Many understand the Hebrew term עֹצֶב (’otsev) as a noun meaning “pain,” and translate the phrase דֶּרֶךְ עֹצֶב (derekh ’otsev) as “of pain,” but this makes little sense here. (Some interpret it to refer to actions which bring pain to others.) It is preferable to take עֹצֶב as “idol” (see HALOT 865 s.v. I עֹצֶב) and understand “way of an idol” to refer to idolatrous actions or tendency. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.
127 tn Heb “in the path of antiquity.” This probably refers to the moral path prescribed by the
