'then hear from heaven your dwelling place, and forgive and render to each his due according to all his ways, whose heart you know; for you alone know the hearts of all the children of men — God's response to individual prayer: 'hear from heaven your dwelling place' (שְׁמַע־מִן־הַשּׁמַיִם מִמְּעוֹן שִׁבְתְּךָ) and 'forgive' (וְסָלַחְתָּ). The divine judgment 'renders to each his due' (וְנָתַתָּ לְאִישׁ כְּכָל־דְּרָכָיו) according to his conduct. The crucial theological claim: 'whose heart you know' and 'you alone know the hearts' (וְאַתָּה תֵדַע אֶת־לְבַב בְּנֵי־הָאָדָם). God's judgment is just because divine knowledge is complete; God sees hearts, not merely external actions. This addresses a crucial theological anxiety: how can God's judgment be fair when human judges cannot fully know hearts? God's omniscience ensures perfect justice. The prayer asserts that the temple-directed prayer is heard by the heart-knowing judge.

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