Psalms 139
1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
For the end, a Psalm of David. O Lord, thou hast proved me, and known me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.
Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising: thou understandest my thoughts long before.
3 You search out my path and my lying down; You are aware of all my ways.
Thou hast traced my path and my bed, and hast foreseen all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, O LORD.
For there is no unrighteous word in my tongue: behold, O Lord, thou hast known all things,
5 You hem me in behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me.
the last and the first: thou hast fashioned me, and laid thine hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
The knowledge of thee is too wonderful for me; it is very difficult, I cannot [attain] to it.
7 Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?
Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? and whither shall I flee from my presence?
8 If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. (Sheol h7585)
If I should go up to heaven, thou art there: if I should go down to hell, thou art present. (Sheol h7585)
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle by the farthest sea,
If I should spread my wings [to fly] straight forward, and sojourn at the extremity of the sea, [it would be vain],
10 even there Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast.
for even there thy hand would guide me, and thy right hand would hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me”—
When I said, Surely the darkness will cover me; even the night [was] light in my luxury.
12 even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You.
For darkness will not be darkness with thee; but night will be light as day: as its darkness, so shall its light [be to thee].
13 For You formed my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
For thou, O Lord, hast possessed my reins; thou hast helped me from my mother's womb.
14 I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well.
I will give thee thanks; for thou art fearfully wondrous; wondrous are thy works; and my soul knows [it] well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
My bones, which thou madest in secret were not hidden from thee, nor my substance, in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.
Thine eyes saw my unwrought [substance], and all [men] shall be written in thy book; they shall be formed by day, though [there should for a time] be no one among them.
17 How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God, how vast is their sum!
But thy friends, O God, have been greatly honoured by me; their rule has been greatly strengthened.
18 If I were to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; and when I awake, I am still with You.
I will number them, and they shall be multiplied beyond the sand; I awake, and am still with thee.
19 O God, that You would slay the wicked— away from me, you bloodthirsty men—
Oh that thou wouldest slay the wicked, O God; depart from me, ye men of blood.
20 who speak of You deceitfully; Your enemies take Your name in vain.
For thou wilt say concerning [their] thought, [that] they shall take thy cities in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD, and detest those who rise against You?
Have I not hated them, O Lord, that hate thee? and wasted away because of thine enemies?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them as my enemies.
I have hated them with perfect hatred; they were counted my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.
Prove me, O God, and know my heart; examine me, and know my paths;
24 See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting.
and see if [there is any] way of iniquity in me, and lead me in an everlasting way.
