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Psalm 139
New American Standard Bible
Psalm 139
New American Standard Bible
God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
139 Lord, You have (A)searched me and known me.
2 You (B)know [a]when I sit down and [b]when I get up;
You (C)understand my thought from far away.
3 You [c](D)scrutinize my [d]path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 [e]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You (E)know it all.
5 You have (F)encircled me behind and in front,
And (G)placed Your hand upon me.
6 Such (H)knowledge is (I)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.
7 (J)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 (K)If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [f]Sheol, behold, (L)You are there.
9 If I take up the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will (M)lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the (N)darkness will [g]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even (O)darkness is not dark [h]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
(P)Darkness and light are alike to You.
13 For You (Q)created my innermost parts;
You (R)wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, because [i]I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
(S)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [j](T)frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the (U)depths of the earth;
16 Your (V)eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in (W)Your book were written
All the (X)days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious also are Your (Y)thoughts for me, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would (Z)outnumber the sand.
When (AA)I awake, I am still with You.
19 If only You would (AB)put the wicked to death, God;
(AC)Leave me, (AD)you men of bloodshed.
20 For they (AE)speak [k]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies [l](AF)take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not (AG)hate those who hate You, Lord?
And do I not (AH)loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
23 (AI)Search me, God, and know my heart;
(AJ)Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there is any [m](AK)hurtful way in me,
And (AL)lead me in the (AM)everlasting way.
Footnotes
- Psalm 139:2 Lit my sitting
- Psalm 139:2 Lit my rising
- Psalm 139:3 Lit winnow
- Psalm 139:3 Or journeying
- Psalm 139:4 Lit For there is not
- Psalm 139:8 I.e., the netherworld
- Psalm 139:11 Lit bruise; some commentators cover
- Psalm 139:12 Lit from
- Psalm 139:14 Some ancient versions You are fearfully wonderful
- Psalm 139:15 Lit bones were
- Psalm 139:20 Or of
- Psalm 139:20 Some mss lift themselves up against You
- Psalm 139:24 Lit way of pain
Psalm 139
New International Version
Psalm 139
New International Version
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me,(A) Lord,
and you know(B) me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;(C)
you perceive my thoughts(D) from afar.
3 You discern my going out(E) and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.(F)
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.(G)
5 You hem me in(H) behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,(I)
too lofty(J) for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee(K) from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens,(L) you are there;
if I make my bed(M) in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,(N)
your right hand(O) will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark(P) to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;(Q)
you knit me together(R) in my mother’s womb.(S)
14 I praise you(T) because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,(U)
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made(V) in the secret place,
when I was woven together(W) in the depths of the earth.(X)
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained(Y) for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a](Z) God!(AA)
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,(AB)
they would outnumber the grains of sand(AC)—
when I awake,(AD) I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!(AE)
Away from me,(AF) you who are bloodthirsty!(AG)
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries(AH) misuse your name.(AI)
21 Do I not hate those(AJ) who hate you, Lord,
and abhor(AK) those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.(AL)
23 Search me,(AM) God, and know my heart;(AN)
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way(AO) in me,
and lead me(AP) in the way everlasting.
Footnotes
- Psalm 139:17 Or How amazing are your thoughts concerning me
Psalm 139
New King James Version
Psalm 139
New King James Version
God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, (A)You have searched me and known me.
2 (B)You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You (C)understand my thought afar off.
3 (D)You [a]comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, (E)You know it altogether.
5 You have [b]hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 (F)Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
7 (G)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 (H)If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
(I)If I make my bed in [c]hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall [d]fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, (J)the darkness [e]shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You [f]covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for [g]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 (K)My [h]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
17 (L)How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
19 Oh, that You would (M)slay the wicked, O God!
(N)Depart from me, therefore, you [i]bloodthirsty men.
20 For they (O)speak against You wickedly;
[j]Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21 (P)Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with [k]perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 (Q)Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And (R)lead me in the way everlasting.
Footnotes
- Psalm 139:3 Lit. winnow
- Psalm 139:5 enclosed
- Psalm 139:8 Or Sheol
- Psalm 139:11 Vg., Symmachus cover
- Psalm 139:12 Lit. is not dark
- Psalm 139:13 wove
- Psalm 139:14 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. You are fearfully wonderful
- Psalm 139:15 Lit. bones were
- Psalm 139:19 Lit. men of bloodshed
- Psalm 139:20 LXX, Vg. They take Your cities in vain
- Psalm 139:22 complete
Psalm 139
Contemporary English Version
Psalm 139
Contemporary English Version
(A psalm by David for the music leader.)
The Lord Is Always Near
1 You have looked deep
into my heart, Lord,
and you know all about me.
2 You know when I am resting
or when I am working,
and from heaven
you discover my thoughts.
3 You notice everything I do
and everywhere I go.
4 Before I even speak a word,
you know what I will say,
5 and with your powerful arm
you protect me
from every side.
6 I can't understand all of this!
Such wonderful knowledge
is far above me.
7 Where could I go to escape
from your Spirit
or from your sight?
8 If I were to climb up
to the highest heavens,
you would be there.
If I were to dig down
to the world of the dead
you would also be there.
9 Suppose I had wings
like the dawning day
and flew across the ocean.
10 Even then your powerful arm
would guide and protect me.
11 Or suppose I said, “I'll hide
in the dark until night comes
to cover me over.”
12 But you see in the dark
because daylight and dark
are all the same to you.
13 You are the one
who put me together
inside my mother's body,
14 and I praise you because of
the wonderful way
you created me.
Everything you do is marvelous!
Of this I have no doubt.
15 Nothing about me
is hidden from you!
I was secretly woven together
out of human sight,
16 but with your own eyes you saw
my body being formed.
Even before I was born,
you had written in your book
everything about me.
17 (A) Your thoughts are far beyond
my understanding,
much more than I
could ever imagine.
18 I try to count your thoughts,
but they outnumber the grains
of sand on the beach.
And when I awake,
I will find you nearby.
19 How I wish that you would kill
all cruel and heartless people
and protect me from them!
20 They are always rebelling
and speaking evil of you.[a]
21 You know I hate anyone
who hates you, Lord,
and refuses to obey.
22 They are my enemies too,
and I truly hate them.
23 Look deep into my heart, God,
and find out everything
I am thinking.
24 Don't let me follow evil ways,
but lead me in the way
that time has proven true.
Footnotes
- 139.20 you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 20.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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