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
International Standard Version
To the Music Director: A Davidic Song
God’s Knowledge and Presence
139 Lord, you have examined me;
you have known me.
2 You know when I rest[a]
and when I am active.[b]
You understand what I am thinking
when I am distant from you.[c]
3 You scrutinize my life and my rest;[d]
you are familiar with all of my ways.
4 Even before I have formed a word with my tongue,
you, Lord, know it completely!
5 You encircle me from back to front,
placing your hand upon me.
6 Knowledge like this is too amazing for me.
It is beyond my reach,
and I cannot fathom it.
The Magnitude of God
7 Where can I flee from your spirit?
Or where will I run from your presence?
8 If I rise to heaven, there you are!
If I lay down with the dead,[e] there you are!
9 If I take wings with the dawn
and settle down on the western horizon[f]
10 your hand will guide me there, too,
while your right hand keeps a firm grip on me.
11 If I say, “Darkness will surely conceal me,
and the light around me will become night,”[g]
12 even darkness isn’t dark to you,
darkness and light are the same to you.[h]
13 It was you who formed my internal organs,[i]
fashioning me within my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you,
because you are fearful and wondrous![j]
Your work is wonderful,
and I am fully aware of it.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
while I was being crafted in a hidden place,
knit together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes looked upon my embryo,
and everything was recorded in your book.
The days scheduled[k] for my formation were inscribed,
even though not one of them had come yet.[l]
17 How deep[m] are your thoughts, God!
How great is their number!
18 Were I to count them,
they would number more than the sand.
When I awake, I will be with you.
19 God, if only you would execute the wicked,
so that[n] the men guilty of bloodshed would get away from me,
20 who speak against you with evil motives,
your enemies who are acting in vain.
21 I hate those who hate you, Lord, do I not?
I loathe those who rebel against you, do I not ?
22 With consummate hatred I hate them;
I consider them my enemies.
23 Examine me, God, and know my mind,
test me, and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive tendency[o] in me,
and lead me in the eternal way.
Footnotes
- Psalm 139:2 Lit. know my sitting
- Psalm 139:2 Lit. and my rising
- Psalm 139:2 Or thinking from a distance
- Psalm 139:3 Or death; Lit. my path and my lying down
- Psalm 139:8 Lit. to Sheol; i.e. the realm of the dead
- Psalm 139:9 Lit. the end of the sea
- Psalm 139:11 So MT LXX; DSS 11QPsa reads And let me say, “Surely darkness conceals and night has girded me about.”
- Psalm 139:12 The Heb. lacks to you
- Psalm 139:13 Lit. my kidneys
- Psalm 139:14 So DSS 11QPsa Syr Hieronymus; MT LXX read because I am fearfully and wonderfully made
- Psalm 139:16 The Heb. lacks scheduled
- Psalm 139:16 The Heb. lacks had come yet
- Psalm 139:17 Or precious
- Psalm 139:19 So LXX DSS 11QPsa; MT reads and so that
- Psalm 139:24 Lit. way
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