Psalms 139
1 TO THE OVERSEER. A PSALM OF DAVID. YHWH, You have searched me, and know.
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 known my sitting down, And my rising up, You have attended to my thoughts from afar.
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 have fanned my path and my lying down, And have been acquainted [with] 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 in my tongue, Behold, O YHWH, You have known it all!
Lord, you even know what I'm going to say before I say it.
5 You have besieged me behind and before, And You place 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 Knowledge too wonderful for me, It has been set on high, I am not able for it.
This amazing knowledge you have is far beyond me, way beyond my understanding!
7 To where do I go from Your Spirit? And to where do I flee from Your face?
Where can I go that you're not already there? Where can I run to escape your presence?
8 If I ascend the heavens—You [are] there, And spread out a bed in Sheol, behold, You! (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 I take the wings of morning, I dwell in the uttermost part 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 Also there Your hand leads me, And Your right hand holds me.
even there your hand would lead me, your right hand would support me.
11 And I say, “Surely darkness bruises me,” Then night [is] light to me.
If I asked the darkness to hide me, and light to become night around me,
12 Also darkness does not hide from You, And night shines as day, As [is] darkness so [is] light.
Even darkness would not be dark for you, and the night would be bright as day, for darkness is like light to you.
13 For You have possessed my reins, You cover me in my mother’s belly.
You made me from the inside out, shaping me in my mother's womb.
14 I confess You, because I have been fearfully distinguished. Your works [are] wonderful, And my soul is knowing [it] well.
I praise you for making me in such an awesome and wonderful way. What you do is incredible—I realize this completely!
15 My substance was not hid from You, When I was made in secret, Curiously worked in the lower part of 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, And all of them are written on Your scroll, The days they were formed—And not one among them.
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 And how precious Your thoughts have been to me, O God, how great has been their sum!
God, your thoughts are so valuable to me! Taken together, they can't be counted!
18 I recount them! They are more than the sand, I have awoken, and 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 Do You slay, O God, the wicked? Then, men of blood, turn aside from me!
God, if you would only kill the wicked! Murderers, get away from me!
20 Who exchange You for wickedness, Your enemies [are] lifted up to vanity.
When they speak of you they're being deceptively evil. Since they are your enemies, they call on you in vain.
21 Do I not hate, YHWH, those hating You? And grieve myself with Your withstanders?
Lord, don't I hate those who hate you? I despise those who rebel against you!
22 I have hated them [with] perfect hatred, They have become enemies to me.
I hate them with absolute hatred—they have become my enemies!
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart, Try me, and know my thoughts,
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 And see if a grievous way be in me, And lead me in a perpetual way!
Please show me if I'm following any kind of idol, and lead me along the path of eternal life.
