Psalms

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Psalm 26

1 By David. Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have integrity, and I trust in the Lord without wavering. 2 Examine me, O Lord, and test me. Examine my kidneys and my heart³.⁠ 3 For I am ever aware of your faithfulness, and your loyalty continually motivates me. 4 I do not associate with deceitful men, or consort with those who are dishonest. 5 I hate the mob of evil men, and do not associate with the wicked. 6 I wash my hands in innocence,¹¹ so I can appear before your altar, O Lord,⁠ 7 to give you thanks, and to tell about all your amazing deeds. 8 O Lord, I love the temple where you live, the place where your splendor is revealed. 9 Do not sweep me away with sinners, or execute me along with violent people, 10 who are always ready to do wrong or offer a bribe. 11 But I have integrity. Rescue me and have mercy on me! 12 I am safe, and among the worshipers I will praise the Lord.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 26:2 and Revelation 2:23

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

Summary

Revelation echoes Psalm 26, where God examines “heart and kidneys,” following ancient beliefs that the kidneys are a source of thought and morality. In Revelation, Jesus is described with access to this hidden knowledge.

Passages

Psalm 26:2

Hebrew Bible

1 By David. Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have integrity, and I trust in the Lord without wavering. 2 Examine me, O Lord, and test me. Examine my kidneys and my heart³. 3 For I am ever aware of your faithfulness, and your loyalty continually motivates me. 4 I do not associate with deceitful men, or consort with those who are dishonest.

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 26:2 and Revelation 2:23

Summary

Passages

Psalm 26:2

Revelation 2:23

References

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