Psalm 139:1-24
For the director. Of David. A melody.
139 O Jehovah, you have searched through me, and you know me.+
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up.+
You discern my thoughts from afar.+
3 You observe* me when I travel and when I lie down;You are familiar with all my ways.+
4 There is not a word on my tongue,But look! O Jehovah, you already know it well.+
5 Behind and before me, you surround me;And you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is beyond my comprehension.*
It is too high for me to reach.*+
7 Where can I escape from your spirit,And where can I run away from your face?+
8 If I were to ascend to heaven, you would be there,And if I were to make my bed in the Grave,* look! you would be there.+
9 If I would fly away with the wings of the dawnTo reside by the most remote sea,
10 Even there your hand would lead meAnd your right hand would take hold of me.+
11 If I say: “Surely darkness will conceal me!”
Then the night around me would become light.
12 Even the darkness would not be too dark for you,But night would be as bright as the day;+Darkness is the same as light to you.+
13 For you produced my kidneys;You kept me screened off* in my mother’s womb.+
14 I praise you because in an awe-inspiring way I am wonderfully made.+
Your works are wonderful,+I know* this very well.
15 My bones were not hidden from youWhen I was made in secret,When I was woven in the depths of the earth.+
16 Your eyes even saw me as an embryo;All its parts were written in your bookRegarding the days when they were formed,Before any of them existed.
17 So to me, how precious your thoughts are!+
O God, how vast is the sum of them!+
18 If I try to count them, they outnumber the grains of sand.+
When I awake, I am still with you.*+
19 O God, if only you would slay the wicked!+
Then the violent* men would depart from me,
20 Those who say things against you with evil intent;*They are your adversaries who take up your name in a worthless way.+
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Jehovah,+And loathe those who revolt against you?+
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;+They have become real enemies to me.
23 Search through me, O God, and know my heart.+
Examine me, and know my anxious* thoughts.+
24 See whether there is in me any harmful way,+And lead me+ in the way of eternity.
Footnotes
^ Lit., “measure.”
^ Or “is too amazing for me.”
^ Or “too much for me to fathom.”
^ Or possibly, “wove me together.”
^ Or “My soul knows.”
^ Or possibly, “I would still be counting them.”
^ Or “bloodguilty.”
^ Or “according to their idea.”
^ Or “disquieting.”