Psalm 139
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 139
The Inescapable God
To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.(A)
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.(B)
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.(C)
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.(D)
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.(E)
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.(F)
7 Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?(G)
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.(H)
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.(I)
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and night wraps itself around me,”[a](J)
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.(K)
13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.(L)
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.(M)
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.(N)
16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.[b]
17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!(O)
18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the end[c]—I am still with you.
19 O that you would kill the wicked, O God,
and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—(P)
20 those who speak of you maliciously
and lift themselves up against you for evil
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?(R)
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.(S)
24 See if there is any wicked[e] way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.[f](T)
Psalm 139
Common English Bible
Psalm 139
For the music leader. Of David. A song.
139 Lord, you have examined me.
You know me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up.
Even from far away, you comprehend my plans.
3 You study my traveling and resting.
You are thoroughly familiar with all my ways.
4 There isn’t a word on my tongue, Lord,
that you don’t already know completely.
5 You surround me—front and back.
You put your hand on me.
6 That kind of knowledge is too much for me;
it’s so high above me that I can’t reach it.
7 Where could I go to get away from your spirit?
Where could I go to escape your presence?
8 If I went up to heaven, you would be there.
If I went down to the grave,[a] you would be there too!
9 If I could fly on the wings of dawn,
stopping to rest only on the far side of the ocean—
10 even there your hand would guide me;
even there your strong hand would hold me tight!
11 If I said, “The darkness will definitely hide me;
the light will become night around me,”
12 even then the darkness isn’t too dark for you!
Nighttime would shine bright as day,
because darkness is the same as light to you!
13 You are the one who created my innermost parts;
you knit me together while I was still in my mother’s womb.
14 I give thanks to you that I was marvelously set apart.
Your works are wonderful—I know that very well.
15 My bones weren’t hidden from you
when I was being put together in a secret place,
when I was being woven together in the deep parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my embryo,
and on your scroll every day was written that was being formed for me,[b]
before any one of them had yet happened.[c]
17 God, your plans are incomprehensible to me!
Their total number is countless!
18 If I tried to count them—they outnumber grains of sand!
If I came to the very end—I’d still be with you.[d]
19 If only, God, you would kill the wicked!
If only murderers would get away from me—
20 the people who talk about you, but only for wicked schemes;
the people who are your enemies,
who use your name as if it were of no significance.[e]
21 Don’t I hate everyone who hates you?
Don’t I despise those who attack you?
22 Yes, I hate them—through and through!
They’ve become my enemies too.
23 Examine me, God! Look at my heart!
Put me to the test! Know my anxious thoughts!
24 Look to see if there is any idolatrous way[f] in me,
then lead me on the eternal path!
Footnotes
- Psalm 139:8 Heb Sheol
- Psalm 139:16 Correction; Heb lacks for me.
- Psalm 139:16 Heb uncertain
- Psalm 139:18 Correction
- Psalm 139:20 Heb lacks your name.
- Psalm 139:24 Correction; cf Tg; LXX, Syr, Vulg painful or wicked or hurtful way
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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