Psalms

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Psalm 16

1 A prayer of David. Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you. 2 I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord, my only source of well-being.” 3 As for God’s chosen people who are in the land, and the leading officials I admired so much— 4 their troubles multiply; they desire other gods. I will not pour out drink offerings of blood to their gods, nor will I make vows in the name of their gods.⁠ 5 The Lord is the portion of my possession and my cup⁹;⁠ you make my future secure. 6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields or received a beautiful tract of land. 7 I will praise the Lord who guides me; yes, during the night my kidneys instruct me¹⁵.⁠ 8 I set the Lord before me continually¹⁶;⁠ because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 So my heart rejoices and I am happy; my life is safe. 10 You will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful follower to see the Pit. 11 You lead me in the path of life. I experience absolute joy in your presence; you always give me sheer delight.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 16:7 and Revelation 2:23

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

Summary

Revelation echoes the Hebrew Bible and other ancient Near Eastern literature where the kidneys are a source of thought and morality. This is also used in Psalm 16, where the kidneys “instruct” at night, and in Jeremiah where God “searches” them.

Passages

Psalm 16:7

Hebrew Bible

5 The Lord is the portion of my possession and my cup⁹; you make my future secure. 6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields or received a beautiful tract of land. 7 I will praise the Lord who guides me; yes, during the night my kidneys instruct me¹⁵. 8 I set the Lord before me continually¹⁶; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 So my heart rejoices and I am happy; my life is safe.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Revelation 2:23

New Testament

21 I have given her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Look! I am throwing her onto a bed of violent illness, and those who commit adultery with her into terrible suffering, unless they repent of her deeds. 23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers with a deadly disease, and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches kidneys^* and hearts. I will repay each one of you what your deeds deserve. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, all who do not hold to this teaching (who have not learned the so-called “deep secrets of Satan”), to you I say: I do not put any additional burden on you. 25 However, hold on to what you have until I come.

92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... thoughts ... Literally, reins [kidneys]. Compare Greek phrenes; Psalms 16:7; 73:21; Proverbs 23:16; Jeremiah 11:20; 17:11; 12:2; Revelation 2:23; Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 61a: 'Our Rabbis taught: Man has two kidneys, one of which prompts him to good, the other to evil'; 'The Holy One blessed be He made his [Abraham's] two kidneys serve like two teachers, and these welled forth truth and taught him wisdom.' ..."

David Winston, The Wisdom of Solomon: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1979), 104.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Psalms150 psalms

Compare Psalm 16:7 and Revelation 2:23

Summary

Passages

Psalm 16:7

Revelation 2:23

References

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