Psalms 139
1 To the chief music-maker. A Psalm. Of David. O Lord, you have knowledge of me, searching out all my secrets.
For the music director. A psalm of David. Lord, you have examined me from the inside out—you know everything about me!
2 You have knowledge when I am seated and when I get up, you see my thoughts from far away.
You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know what I'm thinking even when I'm a long way away.
3 You keep watch over my steps and my sleep, and have knowledge of all my ways.
You observe where I go and when I rest. You're familiar with everything I do.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue which is not clear to you, O Lord.
Lord, you even know what I'm going to say before I say it.
5 I am shut in by you on every side, and you have put your hand on me.
You're always there—behind me, in front of me, and all around me. You place your caring hand on me.
6 Such knowledge is a wonder greater than my powers; it is so high that I may not come near it.
This amazing knowledge you have is far beyond me, way beyond my understanding!
7 Where may I go from your spirit? how may I go in flight from you?
Where can I go that you're not already there? Where can I run to escape your presence?
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there: or if I make my bed in the underworld, you are there. (Sheol h7585)
If I go up to heaven, you are there. If I lie down in Sheol, look—you are there too! (Sheol h7585)
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and go to the farthest parts of the sea;
If I were to fly away on wings of the dawn to the east; if I were to live on the far western shore of the sea,
10 Even there will I be guided by your hand, and your right hand will keep me.
even there your hand would lead me, your right hand would support me.
11 If I say, Only let me be covered by the dark, and the light about me be night;
If I asked the darkness to hide me, and light to become night around me,
12 Even the dark is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day: for dark and light are the same to you.
Even darkness would not be dark for you, and the night would be bright as day, for darkness is like light to you.
13 My flesh was made by you, and my parts joined together in my mother's body.
You made me from the inside out, shaping me in my mother's womb.
14 I will give you praise, for I am strangely and delicately formed; your works are great wonders, and of this my soul is fully conscious.
I praise you for making me in such an awesome and wonderful way. What you do is incredible—I realize this completely!
15 My frame was not unseen by you when I was made secretly, and strangely formed in the lowest parts of the earth.
My growing body was not hidden from you as I was formed in secret, as I was intricately put together “in the depths of the earth.”
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book all my days were recorded, even those which were purposed before they had come into being.
You saw me as an embryo, and in your book all my days were written down—the days that were made for me before any of them existed.
17 How dear are your thoughts to me, O God! how great is the number of them!
God, your thoughts are so valuable to me! Taken together, they can't be counted!
18 If I made up their number, it would be more than the grains of sand; when I am awake, I am still with you.
If I tried to count them, they would be more than every grain of sand. Yet when I awake I am still with you.
19 If only you would put the sinners to death, O God; go far from me, you men of blood.
God, if you would only kill the wicked! Murderers, get away from me!
20 For they go against you with evil designs, and your haters make sport of your name.
When they speak of you they're being deceptively evil. Since they are your enemies, they call on you in vain.
21 Are not your haters hated by me, O Lord? are not those who are lifted up against you a cause of grief to me?
Lord, don't I hate those who hate you? I despise those who rebel against you!
22 My hate for them is complete; my thoughts of them are as if they were making war on me.
I hate them with absolute hatred—they have become my enemies!
23 O God, let the secrets of my heart be uncovered, and let my wandering thoughts be tested:
Examine me carefully, God, so you can be sure of my true feelings. Check me out so you can know what I really think.
24 See if there is any way of sorrow in me, and be my guide in the eternal way.
Please show me if I'm following any kind of idol, and lead me along the path of eternal life.
