“I, Yahweh, search the mind. I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”
Testing someone's kidneys reveals their true intentions and hidden motivations.
Medicine
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The cited passage
What current science says
A comprehensive kidney function panel measures blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, electrolytes, and glomerular filtration rate. It can tell you if someone is dehydrated, has kidney disease, or ate too much protein. It cannot tell you if they're planning a surprise party or secretly resent their coworker. Intentions and motivations are processed in the prefrontal cortex — about 40 cm north of the kidneys and in an entirely different organ system. You could have the most righteous kidneys on Earth and still be a terrible person.
What the text says
This comes from Jeremiah 17:10. 'I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins' — kidneys are tested to uncover secret motivations, as if they're a biological polygraph.
Three honest ways to read this passage
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As history
The text records how its authors understood the world with the knowledge they had. Read this way, a difference from modern science is a window into the ancient mind, not a failure.
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As accommodation
The text speaks to its first audience in their own terms, to make a point that isn't mainly about physics or biology. Read this way, the scientific detail is the vehicle, not the cargo.
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As contradiction
The text makes a claim about the physical world that modern findings dispute. Read this way, the difference is a genuine factual disagreement worth naming.
GEBible doesn't pick one of these for you. Each entry shows the passage, what it says, and what current science says — nothing more.