The wicked use questions to justify their godless behavior by denying God’s awareness of human actions. By asking rather than declaring, they create the illusion of intellectual inquiry while actually expressing scornful disbelief in divine omniscience.

The wicked receive no immediate divine answer, emboldening their arrogance (Psalm 73:12). Asaph inwardly wrestles with this question, nearly stumbling in his faith until he enters God’s sanctuary and understands the wicked’s final destiny (Psalm 73:2-3, 17-20). God’s eventual response comes through judgment, proving His complete knowledge.

The wicked ask how God would know because they assume His transcendence equals indifference. The Hebrew yada implies experiential knowledge, the same word used when God ‘knew’ Abraham or Moses personally. By asking rather than declaring God’s ignorance, they maintain plausible deniability while practicing functional atheism. The parallel structure intensifies the mockery, moving from questioning the method (‘how’) to questioning the reality (‘is there knowledge’). This represents the ultimate folly: creatures denying the Creator’s basic attributes. The theological weight is staggering, for if God does not know, He cannot judge, and morality collapses into meaninglessness. Asaph later discovers that God’s knowledge is so complete that He has already determined the wicked’s end.