New American Standard Bible 1995

Psalms 139:2-23

2You 1know 2when I sit down and 3when I rise up; You 4understand my thought from afar.3You 5 6scrutinize my 7path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.4 8Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You 9know it all.5You have 10enclosed me behind and before, And 11laid Your hand upon me.6Such 12knowledge is 13too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.

7 14Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?8 15If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in 16Sheol, behold, 17You are there.9If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,10Even there Your hand will 18lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.11If I say, “Surely the 19darkness will 20overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,”12Even the 21darkness is not dark 22to You, And the night is as bright as the day. 23Darkness and light are alike to You.

13For You 24formed my 25inward parts; You 26wove me in my mother’s womb.14I will give thanks to You, for 27I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 28Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.15My 29 30frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the 31depths of the earth;16Your 32eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in 33Your book were all written The 34days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

17How precious also are Your 35thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!18If I should count them, they would 36outnumber the sand. When 37I awake, I am still with You.

19O that You would 38slay the wicked, O God; 39Depart from me, therefore, 40men of bloodshed.20For they 41speak 42against You wickedly, And Your enemies 43 44take Your name in vain.21Do I not 45hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not 46loathe those who rise up against You?22I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies.

23 47Search me, O God, and know my heart; 48Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

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Notes

1. Psalms 139:2 2 Kin 19:27 ↩
2. Psalms 139:2 Lit my sitting ↩
3. Psalms 139:2 Lit my rising ↩
4. Psalms 139:2 Ps 94:11; Is 66:18; Matt 9:4 ↩
5. Psalms 139:3 Lit winnow ↩
6. Psalms 139:3 Job 14:16; 31:4 ↩
7. Psalms 139:3 Or journeying ↩
8. Psalms 139:4 Lit For there is not ↩
9. Psalms 139:4 Heb 4:13 ↩
10. Psalms 139:5 Ps 34:7; 125:2 ↩
11. Psalms 139:5 Job 9:33 ↩
12. Psalms 139:6 Rom 11:33 ↩
13. Psalms 139:6 Job 42:3 ↩
14. Psalms 139:7 Jer 23:24 ↩
15. Psalms 139:8 Amos 9:2-4 ↩
16. Psalms 139:8 I.e. the nether world ↩
17. Psalms 139:8 Job 26:6; Prov 15:11 ↩
18. Psalms 139:10 Ps 23:2, 3 ↩
19. Psalms 139:11 Job 22:13 ↩
20. Psalms 139:11 Lit bruise; some commentators read cover ↩
21. Psalms 139:12 Job 34:22; Dan 2:22 ↩
22. Psalms 139:12 Lit from ↩
23. Psalms 139:12 1 John 1:5 ↩
24. Psalms 139:13 Ps 119:73; Is 44:24 ↩
25. Psalms 139:13 Lit kidneys ↩
26. Psalms 139:13 Job 10:11 ↩
27. Psalms 139:14 Some ancient versions read You are fearfully wonderful ↩
28. Psalms 139:14 Ps 40:5 ↩
29. Psalms 139:15 Lit bones were ↩
30. Psalms 139:15 Job 10:8-10; Eccl 11:5 ↩
31. Psalms 139:15 Ps 63:9 ↩
32. Psalms 139:16 Job 10:8-10; Eccl 11:5 ↩
33. Psalms 139:16 Ps 56:8 ↩
34. Psalms 139:16 Job 14:5 ↩
35. Psalms 139:17 Ps 40:5; 92:5 ↩
36. Psalms 139:18 Ps 40:5 ↩
37. Psalms 139:18 Ps 3:5 ↩
38. Psalms 139:19 Is 11:4 ↩
39. Psalms 139:19 Ps 6:8; 119:115 ↩
40. Psalms 139:19 Ps 5:6; 26:9 ↩
41. Psalms 139:20 Jude 15 ↩
42. Psalms 139:20 Or of ↩
43. Psalms 139:20 Some mss read lift themselves up against You ↩
44. Psalms 139:20 Ex 20:7; Deut 5:11 ↩
45. Psalms 139:21 2 Chr 19:2; Ps 26:5; 31:6 ↩
46. Psalms 139:21 Ps 119:158 ↩
47. Psalms 139:23 Job 31:6; Ps 26:2 ↩
48. Psalms 139:23 Ps 7:9; Prov 17:3; Jer 11:20; 1 Thess 2:4 ↩

Notes

Commentaries on Psalms 139