Psalm 139:7-14
English Standard Version
7 (A)Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where (B)shall I flee from your presence?
8 (C)If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
(D)If I make my bed in Sheol, 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 (E)lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, (F)“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 (G)even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you (H)formed my inward parts;
you (I)knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a]
(J)Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
Footnotes
- Psalm 139:14 Or for I am fearfully set apart
Psalm 139:7-14
New American Standard Bible
7 (A)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 (B)If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [a]Sheol, behold, (C)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 (D)lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the (E)darkness will [b]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even (F)darkness is not dark [c]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
(G)Darkness and light are alike to You.
13 For You (H)created my innermost parts;
You (I)wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, because [d]I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
(J)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
Footnotes
- 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 139:7-16
The Message
7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.
13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.
Psalm 139:7-14
New Living Translation
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
Footnotes
- 139:8 Hebrew to Sheol.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
