Psalms 44:21

would not God discover it, for he knows ¹  one’s thoughts? ² 

Jos 22:22,23; Job 31:4,14; Job 34:21,22; Ps 139:1-24; Ec 12:14; Jer 17:10; Jer 23:24; Ro 2:16; 1Co 4:5; Heb 4:12,13; Re 2:23

¹ tn The active participle describes what is characteristically true.

² 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.