Psalms 139:23–24
David asks God to search his heart and lead him
Study it word by word23Examine me, El, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24And see if there is a way of pain in me, and lead me in the eternal way.
In its context
21Do I not hate those who hate you, YHWH, and loathe those who rise up against you?
22With complete hatred I hate them; they have become enemies to me.
…
Its words in the original
- חָקְרֵchakre· search out, examine
Search out: examine something thoroughly.
- אֵלel· El, God, god
"El", an ancient Hebrew word for "God". Alone or with another title it is a name of the God of Israel: El Elyon (God Most High), El Shaddai (God Almighty). Neighboring peoples used the same word for their gods; then this translation writes "god" in lower case. It also means "mighty".
- דַעda· know
Know. Not only having a fact: it is knowing by experience and closely; also recognize, care for, make known. So Hebrew also uses it for the intimate union of a man and his wife ("he knew his wife").
- לְבָבִlevavi· heart
Heart: the inner part of the person, where one thinks, feels and decides.
- בְּחָנֵbechane· test, examine
Test, examine to find out whether something is true or genuine, as metal is tested.
- שַׂרְעַפָּsarapa· anxious thought
An anxious thought, a worry that turns over in the mind. A very rare word.
- רְאֵהree· see
See. Also look, observe, notice, consider; in some forms, "appear" or "show".
- דֶּרֶךְderech· way
Way, road, journey. Figuratively, the way one lives or acts.
- עֹצֶבotsev· pain, idol
Pain: suffering of body or mind. In 1 Chronicles 4:9 it explains the name Jabez. In other passages the same Hebrew word means "idol," a figure made by human hands.
- נְחֵneche· lead, guide
Lead, guide along the way; bring someone to a place.
- עוֹלָםolam· forever, eternal
A very long time whose end cannot be seen: looking forward, "forever"; looking back, "of old", "ancient".