They say, “How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
Parallel Translations
-
They say, “How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
-
And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?
-
And they say: 'How doth God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?'
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Psalms 73:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Hosea 7:2 They don’t consider in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness. Now their own deeds have engulfed them. They are before my face.
- Zephaniah 1:12 It will happen at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are settled on their dregs, who say in their heart, “Yahweh will not do good, neither will he do evil.”
- Job 22:13-14 You say, ‘What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness? Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he doesn’t see. He walks on the vault of the sky.’
- Psalms 73:9 They have set their mouth in the heavens. Their tongue walks through the earth.
- Psalms 94:7 They say, “Yah will not see, neither will Jacob’s God consider.”
- Ezekiel 8:12 Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his rooms of imagery? For they say, ‘Yahweh doesn’t see us. Yahweh has forsaken the land.’ ”
- Psalms 10:11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten. He hides his face. He will never see it.”
- Psalms 44:21 won’t God search this out? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
- Psalms 139:1-6 Yahweh, you have searched me, and you know me. You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but, behold, Yahweh, you know it altogether. You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me. This knowledge is beyond me. It’s lofty. I can’t attain it.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 11. And they say, How doth God know? Some…
11. And they say, How doth God know? Some commentators maintain that the Prophet here returns to the ungodly, and relates the scoffings and blasphemies with which they stimulate and stir up themselves to commit sin; but of this I cannot approve. David rather explains what he had stated in the preceding verse, as to the fact that the faithful fall into evil thoughts and wicked imaginations when the short-lived prosperity of the ungodly dazzles their eyes. He tells us that they begin then to call in question, Whether there is knowledge in God. Among worldly men, this madness is too common. Ovid thus speaks in one of his verses:
“Sollicitor nullos esse putare deos;” “I am tempted to think that there are no gods.”
Read full note →
It was, indeed, a heathen poet who spake in this manner; but as we know that the poets express the common thoughts of men, and the language which generally predominates in their minds, it is certain that he spake, as it were, in the person of the great mass of mankind, when he frankly confessed, that as soon as any adversity happens, men forget all knowledge of God. They not only doubt whether there is a God, but they even enter into debate with, and chide him. What else is the meaning of that complaint which we meet with in the ancient Latin Poet-
“Nec Saturnius haec oculis pater adspicit aequis:”
“Nor does the great god, the son of Saturn, regard these things with impartial eyes,” — but that the woman, of whom he there speaks, accuses her god Jupiter of unrighteousness, because she was not dealt with in the way which she desired? It is then too common, among the unbelieving part of mankind, to deny that God cares for and governs the world, and to maintain that all is the result of chance. But David here informs us that even true believers stumble in this respect: not that they break forth into this blasphemy, but because they are unable, all at once, to keep their minds under restraint when God seems to cease from executing his office. The expostulation of Jeremiah is well known,
“Righteous art thou, O Lord! when I plead with thee; yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? Wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?” (Jeremiah 12:1)
It appears from that passage that even the godly are tempted to doubt of the Providence of God, but at the same time that doubts on this subject do not go very deep into their hearts; for Jeremiah at the outset protests the contrary; and by doing so, puts, as it were, a bridle upon himself. Yet they do not always so speedily anticipate the snares of Satan, as to avoid asking, under the influence of a doubting spirit, how it can happen, if God really regards the world, that he does not remedy the great confusion which prevails in it? Of those who impiously prate against God by denying his Providence, there are two sorts. Some openly pour out their blasphemies, asserting that God, delighting in ease and pleasure, cares about nothing, but leaves the government of all things to chance. Others, although they keep their thoughts on this subject to themselves, and are silent before men, yet cease not secretly to fret against God, and to accuse him of injustice or of indolence, in conniving at wickedness, neglecting the godly, and allowing all things to be involved in confusion, and to go to wreck. But the people of God, before these perverse and detestable thoughts enter deep into their hearts, disburden themselves into the bosom of God, and their only desire is to acquiesce in his secret judgments, the reason of which is hidden from them. The meaning of this passage, therefore, is, that not only the wicked, when they see things in the world so full of disorder, conceive only of a blind government, which they attribute to fortune or chance; but that even true believers themselves are shaken, so as to doubt of the Providence of God; and that unless they were wonderfully preserved by his hand, they would be completely swallowed up in this abyss.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Thus the flesh moveth even the godly to dispute…
Thus the flesh moveth even the godly to dispute with God touching their poor estate, and the prosperity of the wicked.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 73:11 And they say, How doth God know?…
Psa 73:11 And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?
Ver. 11. And they say, How doth God know?] Even the godly, through infirmity, are drawn sometimes to doubt God’s providence and government, because of the inequality of events in human affairs. It had like to have cost the psalmist here a fall, and made him almost cast off all care of religion. Basil, also, was in some doubt of the Divine providence, under the heat of the Arian persecution. For hath the Lord utterly forsaken his Churches? saith he; is it now the last hour? In the next age Salvian (for the satisfaction of some good people) was forced to write eight books, De gubernatione Dei, et de iusto praesentique eius Iudicio, of God’s governing the world, and the righteousness of his proceedings. Upon a like occasion Austin wrote those twenty-two most excellent and elaborate books, De Civitate Dei.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain They; either,
They; either,
1. The godly. Or rather,
Read full note →
2. Those wicked ones, whose words and actions he hath been hitherto describing, or the people confederate with them. For these and such-like opinions are oft ascribed to the wicked in Scripture, but never, as far as I know; to any good man. And Job, though he used many intemperate speeches, and though some such expressions as this were charged upon him by his friends, as Job 22:13, yet he utterly disowned them. Is there knowledge in the Most High? seeing these cursed and impudent blasphemers of God, and enemies of all goodness, are crowned with so many blessings, how is it credible that there is a God who sees and orders the affairs of this lower world? for if God did know these things, certainly he neither could nor would suffer them to be thus managed.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And they say, how doth God know?.... Owning there…
And they say, how doth God know?.... Owning there is a God, but questioning his knowledge; for the words are not an inquiry about the way and manner of his knowing things; which is not by the senses, as hearing and seeing; eyes and ears are improperly ascribed to him; nor in a discursive way, by reasoning, and inferring one thing from another; for he knows things intuitively, beholding all things in his own eternal mind and will: but they are a question about his knowledge itself, as follows:
and is their knowledge in the most High? they acknowledge God to be the most High, and yet doubt whether there is knowledge in him; and indeed the higher with respect to place, and at the greater distance he was from them, the less they imagined he knew of affairs below; see Job 22:13 for the knowledge called in question is to be understood of his providential notice of human affairs, which they thought he did not concern himself with, as being below his regard; see Eze 9:9 and therefore concluded that their acts of oppression and violence, and their insolent words against God and men, would pass unobserved, and with impunity. If these are the words of good men, of the people of God under affliction, they are to be considered as under a temptation from their affliction, and the prosperity of the wicked, to call in question the providence of God in the government of the world, and his love to them, which is sometimes expressed by his knowledge of them, Psa 1:6.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 11. They say, How doth God know?] My…
Verse 11. They 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 favours 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."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 73:11. And they say — Namely, the ungodly,…
Psa 73:11. And they say — Namely, the ungodly, described in the preceding verses, (verse the 10th coming in by way of parenthesis,) or the people confederate with them, or that fall back to them. For these and such like opinions and speeches are often ascribed to the carnal and wicked in Scripture, but never to any good man. Some such expressions as this were indeed charged on Job by his friends, but, although he had used many intemperate speeches, he utterly disowned such as these. How doth God know? Is there knowledge, &c. — As if they said, Since blasphemers of God and enemies of all goodness are crowned with so many blessings, how is it credible that there is a God who sees and orders the affairs of this lower world? For if God did know these things, and concerned himself with affairs here below, he certainly neither could nor would suffer them to be thus managed.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And they say - His people say. The connection…
And 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 Psa 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 who have no such perplexities and difficulties they keep these thoughts to themselves, Psa 73:15.
How doth God know? - That is, How can these facts be reconciled with God’s omniscience? How can it be that he sees all this, and yet suffers it to occur, or that he does not interpose to prevent it? Is it not a fair inference from these facts that God does “not” see them, and that he is “not” an Omniscient Being? Can it be explained, can it be believed, that God sees all this, and that he calmly looks on, and does nothing to prevent it? If he sees it, why does he not interpose and put an end to it? These perplexities were not confined to the psalmist. They are such as have been felt by good people in all ages; and no one yet has been able to furnish a solution of them that is wholly free from difficulty.
Read full note →
And is there knowledge in the Most High? - Can there be in God a knowledge of these facts? Are we not driven to the conclusion that he must be ignorant of them? for, if he knew them, would he not interpose to prevent them? How “can” it be consistent with the idea that he “knows” them, and “sees” them, that he does “not” interpose, and that he suffers these things to take place without any attempt to check such evils? Who, even now, can answer these questions?
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 11. They say, How doth God know—If these words…
11. They say, How doth God know—If these words are supposed to be spoken by God’s people they simply express their wonder, not how God should know, but how his certain knowledge of these outrageous doings could be reconciled with his goodness; as if they would say, How can God know these things and yet allow them? But if they are the words of the wicked, as seems most natural, we must suppose them to be heathen, with whom limited knowledge and local jurisdiction of the gods were admissible facts; or, taking knowledge here in its judicial sense of legal cognizance, it may be only a denial by the wicked that God notices with a view to punish their acts, as Psa_11:4-5. Knowledge, in the second member of the verse, is to be taken in the sense of omniscience.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11. The speakers in this verse are not ‘the…
11. The speakers in this verse are not ‘the wicked,’ but the deluded mass of their followers described in Psa_73:10. They adopt the language of their leaders, and question God’s knowledge of their doings in particular, and even His omniscience in general. Cp. Psa_10:4; Psa_10:11; Psa_10:13. The names of God—El, the Mighty One, ‘Elyôn, the Supreme Ruler of the Universe—are chosen so as to accentuate the blasphemy of their scepticism.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (11-14) The mutual relation of these verses has been…
(11-14) The mutual relation of these verses has been the subject of many conflicting opinions. The following is the arrangement that seems preferable—
“And people say, How shall God know?
Read full note →
And does the Most High take notice of it?
Lo! there are wicked men, And yet, always at ease, they amass riches.
It is in vain then that I have kept my heart pure.
And washed my hands in innocence;
For I have been plagued every day,
And my punishments (come) every morning.”
—this reflection being put into the mouth of the public who are onlookers at the career of these timeservers. But the poet immediately goes on to disclaim it for himself.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And they say, How doth God know? Their wickedness…
And they say, How doth God know? Their wickedness breeds scepticism in them. They wish God not to know, and therefore begin to question whether he does or can know. (comp. Psa_10:4, Psa_10:11, Psa_10:13) And is there knowledge in the Most High? Does God concern himself at all with the things that take place on earth? (comp. Psa_94:7) Is not man too weak and contemptible to attract his attention?
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 11. And they say, How doth God know?…
Ver. 11. And they say, How doth God know? Thus dare the ungodly speak. They flatter themselves that their oppressions and persecutions are unobserved of heaven. If there be a God, is he not too much occupied with other matters to know what is going on upon this world? So they console themselves if judgments be threatened. Boasting of their own knowledge, they yet dare to ask,
Is there knowledge in the Most High? Well were they called foolish. A God, and not know? This is a solecism in language, a madness of thought. Such, however, is the acted insanity of the graceless theists of this age; theists in name, because avowed infidelity is disreputable, but atheists in practice beyond all question. I could not bring my mind to accept the rendering of many expositors by which this verse is referred to tried and perplexed saints. I am unable to conceive that such language could flow from their lips, even under the most depressing perplexities.
Read full note →
Ver. 11. How doth God know? etc. Men may not disbelieve a Godhead; nay, they may believe there is a God, and yet question the truth of his threatenings. Those conceits that men have of God, whereby they mould and frame him in their fancies, suitable to their humours, which is a thinking that he is such a one as ourselves (Psalm 1), are steams and vapours from this pit, and the "hearts of the sons of men are desperately set within them to do evil" upon these grounds; much more when they arise so high as in some who say: How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High? If men give way to this, what reason can be imagined to stand before them? All the comminations of Scripture are derided as so many theological scarecrows, and undervalued as so many pitiful contrivances to keep men in awe. Richard Gilpin.
Ver. 11. Ovid thus speaks in one of his verses: "Sollicitor nullos esse putare deos; "I am tempted to think that there are no gods.
Ver. 11. The atheists open question; the oppressor's practical question; the careless man's secret question; and the fearful saint's fainting question. The reasons why it is ever asked, and the conclusive reasons which put the matter beyond question.
Psalms 73:12*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.