Psalm 139 - New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, You have (A)searched me and known me.
2 You (B)know [a]when I sit down and [b]when I rise up;
You (C)understand my thought from afar.
3 You [c](D)scrutinize my [d]path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 [e]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You (E)know it all.
5 You have (F)enclosed me behind and before,
And (G)laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such (H)knowledge is (I)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.

7 (J)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 (K)If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [f]Sheol, behold, (L)You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will (M)lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the (N)darkness will [g]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the (O)darkness is not dark [h]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
(P)Darkness and light are alike to You.

13 For You (Q)formed my [i]inward parts;
You (R)wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for [j]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
(S)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [k](T)frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the (U)depths of the earth;
16 Your (V)eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in (W)Your book were all written
The (X)days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

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

19 O that You would (AB)slay the wicked, O God;
(AC)Depart from me, therefore, (AD)men of bloodshed.
20 For they (AE)speak [l]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies [m](AF)take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not (AG)hate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not (AH)loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.

23 (AI)Search me, O God, and know my heart;
(AJ)Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there be any [n](AK)hurtful way in me,
And (AL)lead me in the (AM)everlasting way.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 139:2 Lit my sitting
  2. Psalm 139:2 Lit my rising
  3. Psalm 139:3 Lit winnow
  4. Psalm 139:3 Or journeying
  5. Psalm 139:4 Lit For there is not
  6. Psalm 139:8 I.e. the nether world
  7. Psalm 139:11 Lit bruise; some commentators read cover
  8. Psalm 139:12 Lit from
  9. Psalm 139:13 Lit kidneys
  10. Psalm 139:14 Some ancient versions read You are fearfully wonderful
  11. Psalm 139:15 Lit bones were
  12. Psalm 139:20 Or of
  13. Psalm 139:20 Some mss read lift themselves up against You
  14. Psalm 139:24 Lit way of pain

Cross references

  1. Psalm 139:1 : Ps 17:3; 44:21; Jer 12:3
  2. Psalm 139:2 : 2 Kin 19:27
  3. Psalm 139:2 : Ps 94:11; Is 66:18; Matt 9:4
  4. Psalm 139:3 : Job 14:16; 31:4
  5. Psalm 139:4 : Heb 4:13
  6. Psalm 139:5 : Ps 34:7; 125:2
  7. Psalm 139:5 : Job 9:33
  8. Psalm 139:6 : Rom 11:33
  9. Psalm 139:6 : Job 42:3
  10. Psalm 139:7 : Jer 23:24
  11. Psalm 139:8 : Amos 9:2-4
  12. Psalm 139:8 : Job 26:6; Prov 15:11
  13. Psalm 139:10 : Ps 23:2, 3
  14. Psalm 139:11 : Job 22:13
  15. Psalm 139:12 : Job 34:22; Dan 2:22
  16. Psalm 139:12 : 1 John 1:5
  17. Psalm 139:13 : Ps 119:73; Is 44:24
  18. Psalm 139:13 : Job 10:11
  19. Psalm 139:14 : Ps 40:5
  20. Psalm 139:15 : Job 10:8-10; Eccl 11:5
  21. Psalm 139:15 : Ps 63:9
  22. Psalm 139:16 : Job 10:8-10; Eccl 11:5
  23. Psalm 139:16 : Ps 56:8
  24. Psalm 139:16 : Job 14:5
  25. Psalm 139:17 : Ps 40:5; 92:5
  26. Psalm 139:18 : Ps 40:5
  27. Psalm 139:18 : Ps 3:5
  28. Psalm 139:19 : Is 11:4
  29. Psalm 139:19 : Ps 6:8; 119:115
  30. Psalm 139:19 : Ps 5:6; 26:9
  31. Psalm 139:20 : Jude 15
  32. Psalm 139:20 : Ex 20:7; Deut 5:11
  33. Psalm 139:21 : 2 Chr 19:2; Ps 26:5; 31:6
  34. Psalm 139:21 : Ps 119:158
  35. Psalm 139:23 : Job 31:6; Ps 26:2
  36. Psalm 139:23 : Ps 7:9; Prov 17:3; Jer 11:20; 1 Thess 2:4
  37. Psalm 139:24 : Ps 146:9; Prov 15:9; 28:10; Jer 25:5; 36:3
  38. Psalm 139:24 : Ps 5:8; 143:10
  39. Psalm 139:24 : Ps 16:11

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