A modern English translation drawn directly from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Translated word-for-word where possible, by a committee with scholarly oversight.
Uses the same source texts as the ESV, NASB, and most academic Bibles, including the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the Nestle-Aland critical edition.
Psalm 139
Psalm 139 is the one hundred thirty-ninth psalm. The 24-verse psalm is one of the most personal in the Psalter, describing God's complete knowledge of the psalmist and his presence everywhere. It is attributed to David.
The psalm opens with the famous declaration: "O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar. You search my path and my lying down; You are aware of all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, O LORD."
The psalmist then explores God's inescapable presence. Where can he go from God's Spirit? Where can he flee from God's presence? If he ascends to the heavens, God is there; if he makes his bed in Sheol, God is there. If he rises on the wings of the dawn, if he settles by the farthest sea, even there God's hand will guide him. If he says, "Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night," even the darkness is not dark to God; the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to him.
The psalmist then describes how God knew him from the beginning: "For You formed my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body."
He marvels at the depth of God's thoughts toward him, more in number than the sand. When he wakes, he is still with God.
The tone shifts in the final verses. He calls on God to slay the wicked and turn from him those who speak against him with malice. He says he hates those who hate God with a complete hatred.
The chapter closes with a famous prayer: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
Verse 1. For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
Verse 2. You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.
Verse 3. You search out my path and my lying down; You are aware of all my ways.
Verse 4. Even before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, O LORD.
Verse 5. You hem me in behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me.
Verse 6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Verse 7. Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?
Verse 8. If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.
Verse 9. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle by the farthest sea,
Verse 10. even there Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast.
Verse 11. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me”—
Verse 12. even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You.
Verse 13. For You formed my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Verse 14. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well.
Verse 15. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Verse 16. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.
Verse 17. How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God, how vast is their sum!
Verse 18. If I were to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; and when I awake, I am still with You.
Verse 19. O God, that You would slay the wicked—away from me, you bloodthirsty men—
Verse 20. who speak of You deceitfully; Your enemies take Your name in vain.
Verse 21. Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD, and detest those who rise against You?
Verse 22. I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them as my enemies.
Verse 23. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.
Verse 24. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting.
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