37:13 The Lord laughs in disgust 1 at them,
for he knows that their day is coming. 2
44:21 would not God discover it,
for he knows 3 one’s thoughts? 4
103:14 For he knows what we are made of; 5
he realizes 6 we are made of clay. 7
1 tn Heb “laughs.” As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter (see 2:4). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes the action from the perspective of an eye-witness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.
2 tn Heb “for he sees that his day is coming.” As the following context makes clear (vv. 15, 17, 19-20), “his day” refers to the time when God will destroy evildoers.
3 tn The active participle describes what is characteristically true.
4 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.
5 tn Heb “our form.”
6 tn Heb “remembers.”
7 tn Heb “we [are] clay.”