Psalm 139:title–24

THE ALL-KNOWING, EVER-PRESENT GOD

For the choir director. A psalm of David.

¹Lord, you have searched me and known me.^j

²You know when I sit down and when I stand up;

you understand my thoughts from far away.^k

³You observe my travels and my rest;

you are aware of all my ways.^l

⁴Before a word is on my tongue,

you know all about it, Lord.^m

⁵You have encircled me;

you have placed your hand on me.ⁿ

⁶This wondrous knowledge is beyond me.

It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.^o

⁷Where can I go to escape your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?^p

⁸If I go up to heaven, you are there;^q

if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.^r

⁹If I live at the eastern horizon ^D

or settle at the western limits,

¹⁰even there your hand will lead me;

your right hand will hold on to me.^s

¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,

and the light around me will be night”^t—

¹²even the darkness is not dark to you.

The night shines like the day;

darkness and light are alike to you.^u

¹³For it was you who created my inward parts;^E

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.^v

¹⁴I will praise you

because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.^AB

Your works are wondrous,

and I know this very well.^w

¹⁵My bones were not hidden from you

when I was made in secret,

when I was formed in the depths of the earth.^x

¹⁶Your eyes saw me when I was formless;

all my days were written in your book and planned

before a single one of them began.^y

¹⁷God, how precious^C your thoughts are to me;

how vast their sum is!

¹⁸If I counted them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand;^z

when I wake up,^D I am still with you.^aa

¹⁹God, if only you would kill the wicked—

you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me^ab—

²⁰who invoke you deceitfully.

Your enemies swear by you falsely.^ac

²¹Lord, don’t I hate those who hate you,

and detest those who rebel against you?

²²I hate them with extreme hatred;

I consider them my enemies.^ad

²³Search me, God, and know my heart;

test me and know my concerns.^a

²⁴See if there is any offensive^E way in me;

lead me in the everlasting way.^b