26:2 Examine me, O Lord, and test me!
Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives! 1
For the music director, a psalm of David.
139:1 O Lord, you examine me 3 and know.
139:23 Examine me, and probe my thoughts! 4
Test me, and know my concerns! 5
1 tn Heb “evaluate my kidneys and my heart.” The kidneys and heart were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.
2 sn Psalm 139. The psalmist acknowledges that God, who created him, is aware of his every action and thought. He invites God to examine his motives, for he is confident they are pure.
3 tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.
4 tn Heb “and know my heart.”
5 tn The Hebrew noun שַׂרְעַפַּי (sar’apay, “concerns”) is used of “worries” in Ps 94:19.