The psalm concludes with a prayer for Yahweh to Search the psalmist and Try him (that is, put him to the test) in order to discover if there is any wicked way in him. This is more than a request; it is a way of claiming innocence of any wrong. The psalmist is confident that Yahweh will find nothing in him that deserves punishment.

The two lines of verse 23 are parallel and synonymous, but without intensification. This verse uses much of the language found in verse 1. My heart in line a is parallel with my thoughts in line b; the word translated thoughts is found elsewhere only in 94.19a. The repetition in verse 23 serves to emphasize how important the psalmist’s request is. If the two-line parallelism does not convey this emphasis, the translator should provide it through whatever poetic means is suitable.

In verse 24 it is not certain what the word translated wicked means. Depending on which root it may have come from, it may mean either “injurious, hurtful” or “idol.” If taken in the first sense, it is to be decided whether the “hurt” is felt by God (so New English Bible “that grieves thee”) or by the psalmist (so other translations). In support of the notion “idol” is the use of the word in Isaiah 48.5 in that sense, and the translation in the Targum; this is adopted by Bible en français courant and Dahood. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates the line “See if I am walking the path of evil.” It seems best to understand the word to mean a sin, or fault, that is harmful to the psalmist.

In verse 24b the word translated everlasting may mean “ancient” (so New English Bible), as in Jeremiah 6.16; 18.15. The latter possibility is found as an alternative in Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy footnotes. The everlasting way is God’s way, the one he has set out for all time as the way his people should go. Many languages will be able to maintain the parallel usage of wicked way and way everlasting, as do Revised Standard Version and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy; “Look at me and see if I am going on the road that wicked people take; guide me on the road that leads to you” (as Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has it).

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .