Psalm 139-142

English Standard Version

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, you have ^(A)searched me and known me!
²You ^(B)know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you ^(C)discern my thoughts from afar.
³You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, ^(D)you know it altogether.
⁵You ^(E)hem me in, behind and before,
    and ^(F)lay your hand upon me.
⁶^(G)Such knowledge is ^(H)too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

⁷^(I)Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where ^(J)shall I flee from your presence?
⁸^(K)If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    ^(L)If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
⁹If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰even there your hand shall ^(M)lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹If I say, ^(N)“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
¹²^(O)even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.

¹³For you ^(P)formed my inward parts;
    you ^(Q)knitted me together in my mother's womb.
¹⁴I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.^[a]
^(R)Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵^(S)My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in ^(T)the depths of the earth.
¹⁶Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your ^(U)book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

¹⁷How precious to me are your ^(V)thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸^(W)If I would count them, they are more than ^(X)the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

¹⁹Oh that you would ^(Y)slay the wicked, O God!
    O ^(Z)men of blood, ^(AA)depart from me!
²⁰They ^(AB)speak against you with malicious intent;
    your enemies ^(AC)take your name in vain.^[b]
²¹^(AD)Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
    And do I not ^(AE)loathe those who ^(AF)rise up against you?
²²I hate them with complete hatred;
    I count them my enemies.

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart!
^(AG)Try me and know my thoughts!^[c]
²⁴And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and ^(AH)lead me in ^(AI)the way everlasting!^[d]

Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

140 ^(AJ)Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
    preserve me from ^(AK)violent men,
²who plan evil things in their heart
    and ^(AL)stir up wars continually.
³They make ^(AM)their tongue sharp as ^(AN)a serpent's,
    and ^(AO)under their lips is the ^(AP)venom of asps. Selah

⁴Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
    preserve me from ^(AQ)violent men,
    who have planned to trip up my feet.
⁵The arrogant have ^(AR)hidden a trap for me,
    and with cords they have spread ^(AS)a net;^[e]
    beside the way they have set ^(AT)snares for me. Selah

⁶^(AU)I say to the Lord, You are my God;
    give ear to ^(AV)the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!
⁷O Lord, my Lord, ^(AW)the strength of my salvation,
    you have covered my head in the day of battle.
⁸^(AX)Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their^[f] evil plot, or ^(AY)they will be exalted! Selah

⁹As for the head of those who surround me,
    let ^(AZ)the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
¹⁰Let ^(BA)burning coals fall upon them!
    Let them be cast into fire,
    into miry pits, no more to rise!
¹¹Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

¹²I know that the Lord will ^(BB)maintain the cause of the afflicted,
and ^(BC)will execute justice for the needy.
¹³Surely ^(BD)the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
^(BE)the upright shall dwell in your presence.

Give Ear to My Voice

A Psalm of David.

141 O Lord, I call upon you; ^(BF)hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
²Let ^(BG)my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and ^(BH)the lifting up of my hands as ^(BI)the evening sacrifice!

³^(BJ)Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
    ^(BK)keep watch over the door of my lips!
⁴^(BL)Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
    to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who ^(BM)work iniquity,
    and ^(BN)let me not eat of their delicacies!

⁵^(BO)Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
    let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
    let my head not refuse it.
Yet ^(BP)my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
⁶When their judges are ^(BQ)thrown over the cliff,^[g]
    then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
⁷As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
    so shall our bones ^(BR)be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.^[h]

⁸But ^(BS)my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;
    ^(BT)in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!^[i]
⁹Keep me from ^(BU)the trap that they have laid for me
    and from the snares of evildoers!
¹⁰Let the wicked ^(BV)fall into their own nets,
    while I pass by safely.

You Are My Refuge

A Maskil^[j] of David, when he was in ^(BW)the cave. A Prayer.

142 With my voice I ^(BX)cry out to the Lord;
with my voice I ^(BY)plead for mercy to the Lord.
²I ^(BZ)pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.

³When my spirit ^(CA)faints within me,
    you know my way!
In the path where I walk
    they have ^(CB)hidden a trap for me.
⁴^(CC)Look to the ^(CD)right and see:
    ^(CE)there is none who takes notice of me;
^(CF)no refuge remains to me;
    no one cares for my soul.

⁵I cry to you, O Lord;
    I say, “You are my ^(CG)refuge,
    my ^(CH)portion in ^(CI)the land of the living.”
⁶^(CJ)Attend to my cry,
    for ^(CK)I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors,
    ^(CL)for they are too strong for me!
⁷^(CM)Bring me out of prison,
    that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
    for you will ^(CN)deal bountifully with me.