New Living Translation
Psalms 73:11
11“What does God know?” they ask. “Does the Most High even know what’s happening?”
Psalms 73:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?
- New International Version (NIV)They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)And they say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
Context of Psalms 73:11
9They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth. 10And so the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words. “What does God know?” they ask. “Does the Most High even know what’s happening?” 12Look at these wicked people— enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply. 13Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?
Read all of Psalms 73Psalms 73:11 word by word
וְֽאָמְר֗וּ אֵיכָ֥ה יָדַֽע־אֵ֑ל וְיֵ֖שׁ דֵּעָ֣ה בְעֶלְיֽוֹן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 73:11
- Psalms 73:9They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth.
- Psalms 10:11The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us! He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!”
- Psalms 94:7“The Lord isn’t looking,” they say, “and besides, the God of Israel doesn’t care.”
- Job 22:13But you reply, ‘That’s why God can’t see what I am doing! How can he judge through the thick darkness?
- Ezekiel 8:12Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the leaders of Israel are doing with their idols in dark rooms? They are saying, ‘The Lord doesn’t see us; he has deserted our land!’”
- Zephaniah 1:12“I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem’s darkest corners to punish those who sit complacent in their sins. They think the Lord will do nothing to them, either good or bad.
- Psalms 44:21God would surely have known it, for he knows the secrets of every heart.
- Psalms 139:1O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
- Hosea 7:2Its people don’t realize that I am watching them. Their sinful deeds are all around them, and I see them all.
Commentaries on Psalms 73:11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11They say, How doth God know? - My people are so stumbled with the prosperity of the wicked, that they are ready in their temptation to say, "Surely, God cannot know these things, or he would never dispense his favors thus." Others consider these words as the saying of the wicked: "We may oppress these people as we please, and live as we list; God knows nothing about it."Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11And they say - His people say. The connection demands this interpretation. The meaning is, that his people, as they return again and again to this subject Psalm 73:10, are constrained to put this question. They are compelled by these facts to start such painful inquiries about God; and distressing as the inquiries are, and as are the doubts which they involve, these thoughts will pass through their mind, even though to avoid giving needless pain to those…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-12The psalmist gives an exaggerated picture of the happiness of the wicked (compare Psalm 1).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-1210-12. Hence God's people are confounded, turned hither (or back) and thither, perplexed with doubts of God's knowledge and care, and filled with sorrow.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 73:11
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 73
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries