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For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

139 Yahweh, you have searched me,
    and you know me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up.
    You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down,
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
    but, behold, Yahweh, you know it altogether.
You hem me in behind and before.
    You laid your hand on me.
This knowledge is beyond me.
    It’s lofty.
    I can’t attain it.
Where could I go from your Spirit?
    Or where could I flee from your presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, you are there.
    If I make my bed in Sheol,[a] behold, you are there!
If I take the wings of the dawn,
    and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand will lead me,
    and your right hand will hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me.
    The light around me will be night,”
12 even the darkness doesn’t hide from you,
    but the night shines as the day.
    The darkness is like light to you.
13 For you formed my inmost being.
    You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to you,
    for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful.
    My soul knows that very well.
15 My frame wasn’t hidden from you,
    when I was made in secret,
    woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my body.
    In your book they were all written,
    the days that were ordained for me,
    when as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is their sum!
18 If I would count them, they are more in number than the sand.
    When I wake up, I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would kill the wicked.
    Get away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 For they speak against you wickedly.
    Your enemies take your name in vain.
21 Yahweh, don’t I hate those who hate you?
    Am I not grieved with those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred.
    They have become my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart.
    Try me, and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is any wicked way in me,
    and lead me in the everlasting way.

Footnotes

  1. 139:8 Sheol is the place of the dead.

Psalm 139

The Inescapable God

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.(A)
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from far away.(B)
You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.(C)
Even before a word is on my tongue,
    O Lord, you know it completely.(D)
You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.(E)
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is so high that I cannot attain it.(F)

Where can I go from your spirit?
    Or where can I flee from your presence?(G)
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
    if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.(H)
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![d](Q)
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)

Footnotes

  1. 139.11 Q ms: MT and the light around me become night
  2. 139.16 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  3. 139.18 Or I awake
  4. 139.20 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
  5. 139.24 Heb hurtful
  6. 139.24 Or the ancient way