上帝的全知和佑護

大衛的詩,交給樂長。

139 耶和華啊,你洞察我的內心,
知道我的一切。
我或坐下或起來,你都知道,
你從遠處就知道我的心思意念。
我或外出或躺臥,你都瞭解,
你熟悉我的一切行為。
耶和華啊,我話未出口,
你已洞悉一切。
你在我前後護衛著我,
以大能的手保護我。
這一切實在是太奇妙,
太深奧了,我無法明白。

我去哪裡可躲開你的靈?
我跑到哪裡可避開你的面?
我若升到天上,你在那裡;
我若下到陰間,你也在那裡。
縱使我乘著晨風飛到遙遠的海岸居住,
10 就是在那裡,
你的手必引導我,
你大能的手必扶持我。
11 我想,黑暗一定可以遮蔽我,
讓我四圍變成黑夜。
12 然而,即使黑暗也無法遮住你的視線。
在你看來,黑夜亮如白晝,
黑暗與光明無異。
13 你創造了我,
使我在母腹中成形。
14 我稱謝你,
因為你創造我的作為是多麼奇妙可畏,
我心深深知道。
15 我在隱秘處被造、在母腹中成形的時候,
你對我的形體一清二楚。
16 我的身體還未成形,
你早已看見了。
你為我一生所定的年日,
我還沒有出生就已經記在你的冊子上了。
17 耶和華啊,
你的意念對我來說是何等寶貴,何等浩博!
18 我若數算,它們比海沙還多。
我醒來的時候,
依然與你在一起。
19 耶和華啊,願你殺戮惡人!
嗜血成性的人啊,你們走開!
20 他們惡言頂撞你,
你的仇敵褻瀆你的名。
21 耶和華啊,
我憎恨那些憎恨你的人,
我厭惡那些攻擊你的人。
22 我恨透了他們,
我視他們為敵人。
23 上帝啊,求你鑒察我,
好知道我的內心;
求你試驗我,好知道我的心思。
24 求你看看我裡面是否有邪惡,
引導我走永恆的道路。

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

You have searched me,(A) Lord,
    and you know(B) me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;(C)
    you perceive my thoughts(D) from afar.
You discern my going out(E) and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.(F)
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.(G)
You hem me in(H) behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,(I)
    too lofty(J) for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee(K) from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens,(L) you are there;
    if I make my bed(M) in the depths, you are there.
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

  1. Psalm 139:17 Or How amazing are your thoughts concerning me

Psalm 139[a]

The All-knowing and Ever-present God

For the leader. A psalm of David.

I

Lord, you have probed me, you know me:
    you know when I sit and stand;[b](A)
    you understand my thoughts from afar.
You sift through my travels and my rest;
    with all my ways you are familiar.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
    Lord, you know it all.
Behind and before you encircle me
    and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    far too lofty for me to reach.(B)

Where can I go from your spirit?
    From your presence, where can I flee?
If I ascend to the heavens, you are there;
    if I lie down in Sheol, there you are.(C)
If I take the wings of dawn[c]
    and dwell beyond the sea,
10 Even there your hand guides me,
    your right hand holds me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely darkness shall hide me,
    and night shall be my light”[d]
12 Darkness is not dark for you,
    and night shines as the day.
    Darkness and light are but one.(D)

II

13 You formed my inmost being;
    you knit me in my mother’s womb.(E)
14 I praise you, because I am wonderfully made;
    wonderful are your works!
    My very self you know.
15 My bones are not hidden from you,
When I was being made in secret,
    fashioned in the depths of the earth.[e]
16 Your eyes saw me unformed;
    in your book all are written down;(F)
    my days were shaped, before one came to be.

III

17 How precious to me are your designs, O God;
    how vast the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sands;
    when I complete them, still you are with me.(G)
19 When you would destroy the wicked, O God,
    the bloodthirsty depart from me!(H)
20 Your foes who conspire a plot against you
    are exalted in vain.

IV

21 Do I not hate, Lord, those who hate you?
    Those who rise against you, do I not loathe?(I)
22 With fierce hatred I hate them,
    enemies I count as my own.

23 Probe me, God, know my heart;
    try me, know my thoughts.(J)
24 See if there is a wicked path in me;
    lead me along an ancient path.[f]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 139 A hymnic meditation on God’s omnipresence and omniscience. The psalmist is keenly aware of God’s all-knowing gaze (Ps 139:1–6), of God’s presence in every part of the universe (Ps 139:7–12), and of God’s control over the psalmist’s very self (Ps 139:13–16). Summing up Ps 139:1–16, 17–18 express wonder. There is only one place hostile to God’s rule—wicked people. The psalmist prays to be removed from their company (Ps 139:19–24).
  2. 139:2 When I sit and stand: in all my physical movement.
  3. 139:9 Take the wings of dawn: go to the extremities of the east. Beyond the sea: uttermost bounds of the west; the sea is the Mediterranean.
  4. 139:11 Night shall be my light: night to me is what day is to others.
  5. 139:15 The depths of the earth: figurative language for the womb, stressing the hidden and mysterious operations that occur there.
  6. 139:24 Lead me along an ancient path: the manner of living of our ancestors, who were faithful to God’s will, cf. Jer 6:16.