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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
English Standard Version
Psalm 139
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!
2 You (B)know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you (C)discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, (D)you know it altogether.
5 You (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!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall (M)lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If 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.
13 For you (P)formed my inward parts;
you (Q)knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I 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.
16 Your 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.
17 How 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.
19 Oh that you would (Y)slay the wicked, O God!
O (Z)men of blood, (AA)depart from me!
20 They (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?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
(AG)Try me and know my thoughts![c]
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and (AH)lead me in (AI)the way everlasting![d]
Footnotes
- Psalm 139:14 Or for I am fearfully set apart
- Psalm 139:20 Hebrew lacks your name
- Psalm 139:23 Or cares
- Psalm 139:24 Or in the ancient way (compare Jeremiah 6:16)
Psalm 139
1599 Geneva Bible
Psalm 139
1599 Geneva Bible
139 1 David cleanseth his heart from all hypocrisy, showeth that there is nothing so hid, which God seeth not. 13 Which he confirmeth by the creation of man. 14 After declaring his zeal and fear of God, he professeth to be enemy to all them that contemn God.
To him that excelleth. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, thou hast tried me, and known me.
2 Thou knowest my [a]sitting and my rising: thou understandest my thought afar off.
3 Thou [b]compassest my paths, and my lying down, and art accustomed to all my ways.
4 For there is not a word in my [c]tongue, but lo, thou knowest it wholly, O Lord.
5 Thou holdest me strait behind and before, and layest thine [d]hand upon me.
6 Thy knowledge is too wonderful for me: it is so high that I cannot attain unto it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy [e]Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, thou art there: if I lie down in hell, thou art there.
9 Let me take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea:
10 Yet thither shall thine hand [f]lead me, and thy right hand hold me.
11 If I say, Yet the darkness shall hide me, even the night shall be [g]light about me.
12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee: but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and light are both alike.
13 For thou hast [h]possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise thee, for I am [i]fearfully and wondrously made: marvelous are thy works, and my soul knoweth it well.
15 My bones are not hid from thee, though I was made in a secret place, and fashioned [j]beneath in the earth.
16 Thine eyes did see me, when I was without form: [k]for in thy book were all things written, which in continuance were fashioned, when there was none of them before.
17 How [l]dear therefore are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they are more than the sand: when I awake, [m]I am still with thee.
19 Oh that thou wouldest [slay], O God, the wicked and bloody men, to whom I say, Depart ye from me:
20 Which speak wickedly of thee, and being thine enemies are lifted up in vain.
21 Do not I [n]hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and do not I earnestly contend with those that rise up against thee?
22 I hate them with an unfeigned hatred, as they were mine utter enemies.
23 Try me, O God, and know mine heart: prove me and know my thoughts,
24 And consider if there be any [o]way of wickedness in me, and lead me in the [p]way forever.
Footnotes
- Psalm 139:2 He confesseth that neither our actions, thoughts, or any part of our life can be hid from God, though he seem to be far off.
- Psalm 139:3 So that they are evidently known to thee.
- Psalm 139:4 Thou knowest my meaning before I speak.
- Psalm 139:5 Thou so guidest me with thine hand, that I can turn no way, but where thou appointest me.
- Psalm 139:7 From thy power and knowledge?
- Psalm 139:10 Thy power doth so fast hold me, that I can escape by no means from thee.
- Psalm 139:11 Though darkness be an hindrance to man’s sight, yet it serveth thine eyes as well as the light.
- Psalm 139:13 Thou hast made me in all parts, and therefore must needs know me.
- Psalm 139:14 Considering thy wonderful work in forming me, I cannot but praise thee and fear thy mighty power.
- Psalm 139:15 That is, in my mother’s womb: which he compareth to the inward parts of the earth.
- Psalm 139:16 Seeing that thou didst know me before I was composed of either flesh or bone, much more now must thou know me when thou hast fashioned me.
- Psalm 139:17 How ought we to esteem the excellent declaration of thy wisdom in the creation of man?
- Psalm 139:18 I continually see new occasions to meditate in thy wisdom, and to praise thee.
- Psalm 139:21 He teacheth us boldly to contemn all the hatred of the wicked, and friendship of the world, when they would let us to serve God sincerely.
- Psalm 139:24 Or any heinous way or rebellious: meaning, that though he were subject to sin, yet he was not given to wickedness, and to provoke God by rebellion.
- Psalm 139:24 That is, continue thy favor towards me to the end.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.