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Psalm chapter 139

English Standard Version

1To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, you have searched me and known me! 2You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. 5You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. 7Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. 13For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 17How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. 19Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! 20They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain. 21Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 22I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. 23Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
New International Version

1For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. 2You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. 5You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 7Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,'
12even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
18Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand-- when I awake, I am still with you. 19If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! 20They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. 21Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? 22I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. 23Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
New American Standard Bible

1Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2You know when I sit down and when I get up; You understand my thought from far away. 3You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, Lord, You know it all. 5You have encircled me behind and in front, And placed Your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot comprehend it. 7Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9 If I take up the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will take hold of me. 11 If I say, 'Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,' 12Even darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. 13For You created my innermost parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. 15My frame was not hidden from You When I was made in secret, And skillfully formed in the depths of the earth; 16Your eyes have seen my formless substance; And in Your book were written All the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. 17How precious also are Your thoughts for me, God! How vast is the sum of them! 18Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. 19If only You would put the wicked to death, God; Leave me, you men of bloodshed. 20For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain. 21Do I not hate those who hate You, Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? 22I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies. 23Search me, God, and know my heart; Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts; 24And see if there is any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.
Christian Standard Bible

1Lord, you have searched me and known me. 2You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. 3You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. 4Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord. 5You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me.
6This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it. 7Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 9If I fly on the wings of the dawn and settle down on the western horizon, 10even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me. 11If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night" --
12even the darkness is not dark to you. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to you. 13For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well. 15My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth.
16Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began. 17God, how precious your thoughts are to me; how vast their sum is!
18If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with you. 19God, if only you would kill the wicked -- you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me -- 20who invoke you deceitfully. Your enemies swear by you falsely. 21Lord, don't I hate those who hate you, and detest those who rebel against you?
22I hate them with extreme hatred; I consider them my enemies. 23Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. 24See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.
New Living Translation

1O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. 3You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. 4You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. 5You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!
7I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! 8If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. 9If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 10even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. 11I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night — 12but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.
13You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous — how well I know it. 15You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
17How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 18I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!
19O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers! 20They blaspheme you; your enemies misuse your name. 21O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you? 22Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.
23Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
King James Version

1{To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.} O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. 2Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 3Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. 5Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. 13For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. 14I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 15My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
17How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! 18If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. 19Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. 20For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. 21Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? 22I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. 23Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

What does Psalm chapter 139 mean?

Psalm 139 begins by expressing the infinite knowledge of God. This attribute is also referred to as omniscience. This extends to everything a person does, thinks, and says, even before those actions occur. As stated elsewhere in the Bible, God's mind is inexpressibly beyond that of any person (Isaiah 55:8–9). This is both a source of comfort for those who honor God and a dire warning to those who defy Him (Psalm 139:1–6).

David then declares God's omnipresence: His existence and influence in all places and at all times. To describe this, David describes various far-off or remote locations. In any of these, no matter what a person does, they cannot escape God. Those who try to run from God, as Jonah did (Jonah 1:1–4), will find it an impossible task. In David's case, this is reassuring knowledge. He is confident that God will be with him, no matter where he goes or where life leads (Psalm 139:7–12).

Next, the psalm celebrates God's incredible power and creativity: His omnipotence. David specifically focuses on the intricate design of the human body. Even before the moment of conception, God is at work in forming a person. In the womb, each person is already an image-bearer of God, and an example of His masterful creative work (Psalm 139:13–16).

Finally, David explores God's justice. While David trusts God and celebrates His blessings, he is also affected by the sins of those who hate God. David sees God's enemies as his enemies. As such, David prays for God to destroy those who are evil. David neither takes this responsibility on himself, nor asks for it. Rather, he pleads with God to deal with the wicked. At the same time, David recognizes that he is vulnerable to sin, and asks God to search his heart and mind, leading him in the right way (Psalm 39:17–24).
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