Discovery BoxPsalms 19:12 
Context19:12 Who can know all his errors? 1
Please do not punish me for sins I am unaware of. 2
Psalms 38:4
Context38:4 For my sins overwhelm me; 3
like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.
Psalms 39:8
Context39:8 Deliver me from all my sins of rebellion!
Do not make me the object of fools’ insults!
Psalms 103:10
Context103:10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve; 4
he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve. 5
Psalms 109:14
Context109:14 May his ancestors’ 6 sins be remembered by the Lord!
May his mother’s sin not be forgotten! 7
Psalms 130:3
Context130:3 If you, O Lord, were to keep track of 8 sins,
O Lord, who could stand before you? 9
1 tn Heb “Errors who can discern?” This rhetorical question makes the point that perfect moral discernment is impossible to achieve. Consequently it is inevitable that even those with good intentions will sin on occasion.
2 tn Heb “declare me innocent from hidden [things],” i.e., sins. In this context (see the preceding line) “hidden” sins are not sins committed in secret, but sins which are not recognized as such by the psalmist.
3 tn Heb “pass over my head.”
4 tn Heb “not according to our sins does he do to us.”
5 tn Heb “and not according to our misdeeds does he repay us.”
6 tn Or “fathers’ sins.”
7 tn Heb “not be wiped out.”
sn According to ancient Israelite theology and its doctrine of corporate solidarity and responsibility, children could be and often were punished for the sins of their parents. For a discussion of this issue see J. Kaminsky, Corporate Responsibility in the Hebrew Bible (JSOTSup). (Kaminsky, however, does not deal with Ps 109.)
8 tn Heb “observe.”
9 tn The words “before you” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist must be referring to standing before God’s judgment seat. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one.”
