Psalms 139
1 For the end, a Psalm of David. O Lord, thou hast proved me, and known me.
To the chief music-maker. A Psalm. Of David. O Lord, you have knowledge of me, searching out all my secrets.
2 Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising: thou understandest my thoughts long before.
You have knowledge when I am seated and when I get up, you see my thoughts from far away.
3 Thou hast traced my path and my bed, and hast foreseen all my ways.
You keep watch over my steps and my sleep, and have knowledge of all my ways.
4 For there is no unrighteous word in my tongue: behold, O Lord, thou hast known all things,
For there is not a word on my tongue which is not clear to you, O Lord.
5 the last and the first: thou hast fashioned me, and laid thine hand upon me.
I am shut in by you on every side, and you have put your hand on me.
6 The knowledge of thee is too wonderful for me; it is very difficult, I cannot [attain] to it.
Such knowledge is a wonder greater than my powers; it is so high that I may not come near it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? and whither shall I flee from my presence?
Where may I go from your spirit? how may I go in flight from you?
8 If I should go up to heaven, thou art there: if I should go down to hell, thou art present. (Sheol h7585)
If I go up to heaven, you are there: or if I make my bed in the underworld, you are there. (Sheol h7585)
9 If I should spread my wings [to fly] straight forward, and sojourn at the extremity of the sea, [it would be vain],
If I take the wings of the morning, and go to the farthest parts of the sea;
10 for even there thy hand would guide me, and thy right hand would hold me.
Even there will I be guided by your hand, and your right hand will keep me.
11 When I said, Surely the darkness will cover me; even the night [was] light in my luxury.
If I say, Only let me be covered by the dark, and the light about me be night;
12 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].
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.
13 For thou, O Lord, hast possessed my reins; thou hast helped me from my mother's womb.
My flesh was made by you, and my parts joined together in my mother's body.
14 I will give thee thanks; for thou art fearfully wondrous; wondrous are thy works; and my soul knows [it] well.
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.
15 My bones, which thou madest in secret were not hidden from thee, nor my substance, in the lowest parts of the earth.
My frame was not unseen by you when I was made secretly, and strangely formed in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 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.
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.
17 But thy friends, O God, have been greatly honoured by me; their rule has been greatly strengthened.
How dear are your thoughts to me, O God! how great is the number of them!
18 I will number them, and they shall be multiplied beyond the sand; I awake, and am still with thee.
If I made up their number, it would be more than the grains of sand; when I am awake, I am still with you.
19 Oh that thou wouldest slay the wicked, O God; depart from me, ye men of blood.
If only you would put the sinners to death, O God; go far from me, you men of blood.
20 For thou wilt say concerning [their] thought, [that] they shall take thy cities in vain.
For they go against you with evil designs, and your haters make sport of your name.
21 Have I not hated them, O Lord, that hate thee? and wasted away because of thine enemies?
Are not your haters hated by me, O Lord? are not those who are lifted up against you a cause of grief to me?
22 I have hated them with perfect hatred; they were counted my enemies.
My hate for them is complete; my thoughts of them are as if they were making war on me.
23 Prove me, O God, and know my heart; examine me, and know my paths;
O God, let the secrets of my heart be uncovered, and let my wandering thoughts be tested:
24 and see if [there is any] way of iniquity in me, and lead me in an everlasting way.
See if there is any way of sorrow in me, and be my guide in the eternal way.
