Test me, O LORD, and try me; examine my heart and mind.
Parallel translations
- WEB Examine me, Yahweh, and prove me. Try my heart and my mind.
- KJV Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
- NKJV Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart.
- NASB Examine me, Lord, and put me to the test; Refine my mind and my heart.
- NLT Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David invites God to examine, prove, and test his heart and mind. He welcomes divine scrutiny of his inmost being.
Overview
Confident in his sincerity, David asks God to search and test his deepest thoughts and affections. This is a bold yet humble willingness to be examined by the One who sees all. It reflects the heart that desires to be cleansed, anticipating the believer's prayer for God to search and purify, as accomplished through the refining work of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ps 139:23–24Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.
- Ps 7:9Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.
- Ps 17:3You have tried my heart; You have visited me in the night. You have tested me and found no evil; I have resolved not to sin with my mouth.
- Zech 13:9This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”
- Job 13:23How many are my iniquities and sins? Reveal to me my transgression and sin.
- Ps 66:10For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us like silver.
- Jer 20:12O LORD of Hosts, who examines the righteous, who sees the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You I have committed my cause.
- Job 31:4–6Does He not see my ways and count my every step?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 26:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.