Psalms 139
139
PSALM 139
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm of David.
1O Lord, thou hast me search'd and known.
2Thou know'st my sitting down,
And rising up; yea, all my thoughts
afar to thee are known.
3My footsteps, and my lying down,
thou compassest always;
Thou also most entirely art
acquaint with all my ways.
4For in my tongue, before I speak,
not any word can be,
But altogether, lo, O Lord,
it is well known to thee.
5Behind, before, thou hast beset,
and laid on me thine hand.
6Such knowledge is too strange for me,
too high to understand.
7From thy Sp'rit whither shall I go?
or from thy presence fly?
8Ascend I heav'n, lo, thou art there;
there, if in hell I lie.
9Take I the morning wings, and dwell
in utmost parts of sea;
10Ev'n there, Lord, shall thy hand me lead,
thy right hand hold shall me.
11If I do say that darkness shall
me cover from thy sight,
Then surely shall the very night
about me be as light.
12Yea, darkness hideth not from thee,
but night doth shine as day:
To thee the darkness and the light
are both alike alway.
13For thou possessed hast my reins,
and thou hast cover'd me,
When I within my mother's womb
inclosed was by thee.
14Thee will I praise; for fearfully
and strangely made I am;
Thy works are marv'llous, and right well
my soul doth know the same.
15My substance was not hid from thee,
when as in secret I
Was made; and in earth's lowest parts
was wrought most curiously.
16Thine eyes my substance did behold,
yet being unperfect;
And in the volume of thy book
my members all were writ;
Which after in continuance
were fashion'd ev'ry one,
When as they yet all shapeless were,
and of them there was none.
17How precious also are thy thoughts,
O gracious God, to me!
And in their sum how passing great
and numberless they be!
18If I should count them, than the sand
they more in number be:
What time soever I awake,
I ever am with thee.
19Thou, Lord, wilt sure the wicked slay:
hence from me bloody men.
20Thy foes against thee loudly speak,
and take thy name in vain.
21Do not I hate all those, O Lord,
that hatred bear to thee?
With those that up against thee rise
can I but grieved be?
22With perfect hatred them I hate,
my foes I them do hold.
23Search me, O God, and know my heart,
try me, my thoughts unfold:
24And see if any wicked way
there be at all in me;
And in thine everlasting way
to me a leader be.
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 139
139
(A psalm by David for the music leader.)
The LORD is always near
1You have looked deep
into my heart, LORD,
and you know-all about me.
2You know when I am resting
or when I am working,
and from heaven
you discover my thoughts.
3You notice everything I do
and everywhere I go.
4Before I even speak a word,
you know what I will say,
5and with your powerful arm
you protect me
from every side.
6I can't understand all this!
Such wonderful knowledge
is far above me.
7Where could I go to escape
from your Spirit
or from your sight?
8If I were to climb up
to the highest heavens,
you would be there.
If I were to dig down
to the world of the dead
you would also be there.
9Suppose I had wings
like the dawning day
and flew across the ocean.
10Even then your powerful arm
would guide and protect me.
11Or suppose I said, “I'll hide
in the dark until night comes
to cover me over.”
12But you see in the dark
because daylight and dark
are all the same to you.
13You are the one
who put me together
inside my mother's body,
14and I praise you because of
the wonderful way
you created me.
Everything you do is marvellous!
Of this I have no doubt.
15Nothing about me
is hidden from you!
I was secretly woven together
deep in the earth below,
16but with your own eyes you saw
my body being formed.
Even before I was born,
you had written in your book
everything I would do.
17Your thoughts are far beyond
my understanding,
much more than I
could ever imagine.
18I try to count your thoughts,
but they outnumber the grains
of sand on the beach.
And when I awake,
I will find you nearby.
19How I wish that you would kill
all cruel and heartless people
and protect me from them!
20They are always rebelling
and speaking evil of you.#139.20 you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 20.
21You know I hate anyone
who hates you, LORD,
and refuses to obey.
22They are my enemies too,
and I truly hate them.
23Look deep into my heart, God,
and find out everything
I am thinking.
24Don't let me follow evil ways,
but lead me in the way
that time has proved true.
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