Psalms 139
1 O Jehovah, thou have searched me, and known.
Unto the end. A Psalm of David. O Lord, you have examined me, and you have known me.
2 Thou know my sitting down and my rising up. Thou understand my thought afar off.
You have known my sitting down and my rising up again.
3 Thou search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
You have understood my thoughts from afar. My path and my fate, you have investigated.
4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Jehovah, thou know it altogether.
And you have foreseen all my ways. For there is no word in my tongue.
5 Thou have beset me behind and before, and laid thy hand upon me.
Behold, O Lord, you have known all things: the newest and the very old. You have formed me, and you have placed your hand over me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high, I cannot attain to it.
Your knowledge has become a wonder to me. It has been reinforced, and I am not able to prevail against it.
7 Where shall I go from thy Spirit? Or where shall I flee from thy presence?
Where will I go from your Spirit? And where will I flee from your face?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou are there. (Sheol h7585)
If I ascend into heaven, you are there. If I descend into Hell, you are near. (Sheol h7585)
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the outermost parts of the sea,
If I assume my feathers in early morning, and dwell in the utmost parts of the sea,
10 even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
even there, your hand will lead me forth, and your right hand will hold me.
11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me, and the light around me shall be night,
And I said: Perhaps darkness will overwhelm me, and the night will be my illumination, to my delight.
12 even the darkness hides not from thee, but the night shines as the day. The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
But darkness will not be impenetrable to you, and night will illuminate like the day: for just as its darkness is, so also is its light.
13 For thou formed my inward parts. Thou covered me in my mother's womb.
For you have possessed my temperament. You have supported me from the womb of my mother.
14 I will give thanks to thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are thy works, and that my soul knows right well.
I will confess to you, for you have been magnified terribly. Your works are miraculous, as my soul knows exceedingly well.
15 My frame was not hidden from thee, when I was made in secret, curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
My bone, which you have made in secret, has not been hidden from you, and my substance is in accord with the lower parts of the earth.
16 Thine eyes saw my unformed substance, and in thy book they were all written, even the days that were ordained, when as yet there was none of them.
Your eyes saw my imperfection, and all this shall be written in your book. Days will be formed, and no one shall be in them.
17 How precious also are thy thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
But to me, O God, your friends have been greatly honored. Their first ruler has been exceedingly strengthened.
18 I count them; they are more in number than the sand. When I awake, I am still with thee.
I will number them, and they will be more numerous than the sand. I rose up, and I am still with you.
19 Surely thou will kill the wicked, O God. Depart from me therefore, ye bloodthirsty men.
O God, if only you would cut down sinners. You men of blood: depart from me.
20 For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take it in vain.
For you say in thought: They will accept your cities in vain.
21 Do I not hate them, O Jehovah, who hate thee? And am I not grieved with those who rise up against thee?
Have I not hated those who hated you, Lord, and wasted away because of your enemies?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred. They have become my enemies.
I have hated them with a perfect hatred, and they have become enemies to me.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts,
Examine me, O God, and know my heart. Question me, and know my paths.
24 and see if there is any wicked way in me. And lead me in the way everlasting.
And see if there might be in me the way of iniquity, and lead me in the way of eternity.
