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Would God not find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.
Psalms 44:21 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB won’t God search this out? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
  • KJV Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
  • BSB would not God have discovered, since He knows the secrets of the heart?
  • NKJV Would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.
  • NLT God would surely have known it, for he knows the secrets of every 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

If they had turned to idols, would not God, who knows the heart's secrets, have found it out? It matters because it appeals to God's perfect knowledge as witness to their loyalty.

Overview

The psalmist invokes God's omniscience: He searches and knows the hidden heart. They appeal to this very knowledge as proof they have not secretly betrayed Him. The God who knows all hearts is the same Lord before whom nothing is hidden, and to whom the faithful can entrust their integrity.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Jer 17:10“I, Yahweh, search the mind, I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”
  • Jer 23:24Can anyone hide himself in secret places so that I can’t see him?” says Yahweh. “Don’t I fill heaven and earth?” says Yahweh.
  • Job 34:21–22“For his eyes are on the ways of a man. He sees all his goings.
  • Eccl 12:14For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.
  • Heb 4:12–13For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
  • Job 31:4Doesn’t he see my ways, and count all my steps?
  • Ps 139:1–24For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. Yahweh, you have searched me, and you know me.
  • 1 Cor 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.
  • Rom 2:16in the day when God will judge the secrets of men, according to my Good News, by Jesus Christ.
  • Josh 22:22–23“The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, the Mighty One, God, Yahweh, he knows; and Israel shall know: if it was in rebellion, or if in trespass against Yahweh (don’t save us today),
  • Job 31:14What then shall I do when God rises up? When he visits, what shall I answer him?
  • Rev 2:23I will kill her children with Death, and all the assemblies will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 44:21YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 44:21 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.