Psalms 139:23-24
Search me, God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.
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Interpretation

Wisdom shapes a search me that is worked out in family life in Psalms 139:23-24—look for "know" and "way". Give search me in conversations that test patience—steady the will with prayer.

Context

The setting is Psalms—poetry/wisdom, developing search me. Read in Psalms 139, its force becomes clearer. It also intersects wisdom & worship. Listen for “know” alongside “way”.

Authorship & Historical Background

Long‑standing tradition credits Psalms to David and other contributors. Academic consensus for Psalms tends toward: Worship songbook gathered from several collections and guilds.. Scholars commonly date Psalms Monarchy through the post‑exilic period.. Wisdom & Worship is especially relevant in this line. Lament and praise train the heart together. The psalter reflects multiple collections brought together for worship.

More details
Traditional:David & others
Modern scholarship:Temple hymnbook with multiple collections and authors.
Date:Monarchy to post‑exilic.
Manuscripts & Textual Witnesses
The Hebrew text is preserved in the Masoretic tradition, stabilized between the 6th-10th centuries CE. The the Dead Sea Scrolls (found 1947-1956) provide manuscripts 1000+ years older than medieval texts, generally confirming the Masoretic Text's reliability with only minor variations. The Septuagint (Greek translation, 3rd-2nd century BCE) offers an independent textual witness. Variations between manuscripts are typically minor: spelling differences, word order, or clarifications that do not alter the main meaning. Modern translations compare all available manuscripts to reconstruct the most probable original wording text.
Sources & witness notes
MT