Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; their minds and hearts are searched by the righteous God.
Parallel translations
- KJV Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
- BSB Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.
- NKJV Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, But establish the just; For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.
- NASB Please let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; For the righteous God puts hearts and minds to the test.
- NLT End the evil of those who are wicked, and defend the righteous. For you look deep within the mind and heart, O righteous God.
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 prays that wickedness would end and the righteous be established, for God searches every heart. The God who tests minds and hearts judges with perfect knowledge.
Overview
David longs for evil to cease and the godly to be made secure, appealing to God as the one who probes the innermost thoughts. Because God sees the heart, His judgment is flawless and cannot be deceived. This searching knowledge both warns the hypocrite and comforts the upright, who are fully known and kept by their righteous God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 27
- 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 11:20But, Yahweh of Armies, who judges righteously, who tests the heart and the mind, I shall see your vengeance on them; for to you I have revealed my cause.
- Jer 20:12But, Yahweh of Armies, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance on them; for to you I have revealed my cause.
- 1 Sam 16:7But Yahweh said to Samuel, “Don’t look on his face, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for I don’t see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.”
- 1 Chr 28:9You, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
- Ps 139:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. Yahweh, you have searched me, and you know me.
- Ps 44:21won’t God search this out? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
- Ps 11:5Yahweh examines the righteous, but the wicked and him who loves violence his soul hates.
- Ps 26:2Examine me, Yahweh, and prove me. Try my heart and my mind.
- Ps 37:23A man’s goings are established by Yahweh. He delights in his way.
- Ps 10:15Break the arm of the wicked. As for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until you find none.
- Rom 16:25—
- 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.
- Ps 17:3You have proved my heart. You have visited me in the night. You have tried me, and found nothing. I have resolved that my mouth shall not disobey.
- Acts 12:23Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn’t give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.
- Ps 10:18to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that man who is of the earth may terrify no more.
- 1 Sam 2:9He will keep the feet of his holy ones, but the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness; for no man shall prevail by strength.
- Ps 58:6Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, Yahweh.
- Isa 37:36–38Yahweh’s angel went out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the camp of the Assyrians. When men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
- Dan 11:45He shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one shall help him.
- 1 Th 3:13to the end he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
- 1 Pet 5:10But may the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
- Ps 9:5–6You have rebuked the nations. You have destroyed the wicked. You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
- Ps 40:2He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand.
- Ps 74:10–11How long, God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
- Ps 74:22–23Arise, God! Plead your own cause. Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day.
- Jude 1:1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
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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.
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Original language
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