5 You hem me in behind and before,

and you lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

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

and the light become night around me,”

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

5 You hem me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it.

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from your presence?

8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

9 If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10 even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,”

12 even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.

5 Thou hast beset me behind and before,

And laid thine hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is high, I cannot attain unto it.

7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit?

Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:

If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

10 Even there shall thy hand lead me,

And thy right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me;

Even the night shall be light about me.

12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee;

But the night shineth as the day:

The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

5 You go before me and follow me.

You place your hand of blessing on my head.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too great for me to understand!

7 I can never escape from your Spirit!

I can never get away from your presence!

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

if I go down to the grave, you are there.

9 If I ride the wings of the morning,

if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

10 even there your hand will guide me,

and your strength will support me.

11 I could ask the darkness to hide me

and the light around me to become night—

12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.

To you the night shines as bright as day.

Darkness and light are the same to you.

5 You have hedged me behind and before,

And laid Your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is high, I cannot attain it.

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,

And Your right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”

Even the night shall be light about me;

12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,

But the night shines as the day;

The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

5 You are all around me—in front and in back—

and have put your hand on me.

6 Your knowledge is amazing to me;

it is more than I can understand.

7 Where can I go to get away from your Spirit?

Where can I run from you?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there.

If I lie down in the grave, you are there.

9 If I rise with the sun in the east

and settle in the west beyond the sea,

10 even there you would guide me.

With your right hand you would hold me.

11 I could say, “The darkness will hide me.

Let the light around me turn into night.”

12 But even the darkness is not dark to you.

The night is as light as the day;

darkness and light are the same to you.

5 Thou hast beset me behind and before,

And laid thy hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is high, I cannot attain unto it.

7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?

Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:

If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

10 Even there shall thy hand lead me,

And thy right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me,

And the light about me shall be night;

12 Even the darkness hideth not from thee,

But the night shineth as the day:

The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thy hand upon me. 6 O knowledge too wonderful for me! it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? and whither flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into the heavens thou art there; or if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there; 9 If I take the wings of the dawn and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11 And if I say, Surely darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night; 12 Even darkness hideth not from thee, and the night shineth as the day: the darkness is as the light.

5 You are all around me—in front of me and in back of me. 

You lay your hand on me. 

6 Such knowledge is beyond my grasp. 

It is so high I cannot reach it. 

7 Where can I go ⸤to get away⸥ from your Spirit? 

Where can I run ⸤to get away⸥ from you? 

8 If I go up to heaven, you are there. 

If I make my bed in hell, you are there. 

9 If I climb upward on the rays of the morning sun 

⸤or⸥ land on the most distant shore of the sea where the sun sets, 

10 even there your hand would guide me 

and your right hand would hold on to me. 

11 If I say, “Let the darkness hide me 

and let the light around me turn into night,” 

12 even the darkness is not too dark for you. 

Night is as bright as day. 

Darkness and light are the same ⸤to you⸥. 

5 You have encircled me;

You have placed Your hand on me.

6 This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me.

It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.

7 Where can I go to escape Your Spirit?

Where can I flee from Your presence?

8 If I go up to heaven, You are there;

if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.

9 If I live at the eastern horizon

or settle at the western limits,

10 even there Your hand will lead me;

Your right hand will hold on to me.

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

and the light around me will be night” —

12 even the darkness is not dark to You.

The night shines like the day;

darkness and light are alike to You.

5 You hem me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is so high that I cannot attain it.

7 Where can I go from your spirit?

Or where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;

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

9 If I take the wings of the morning

and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,

10 even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me fast.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light around me become night,”

12 even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is as bright as the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

5 You barricade me behind and in front,

and set your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.

It is set high; I cannot prevail against it.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit,

or where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I ascend to heaven, there you are,

and if I make my bed in Sheol, look! There you are.

9 If I lift up the wings of the dawn,

and I alight on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand would lead me,

and your right hand would hold me fast.

11 And if I should say, “Surely darkness will cover me,

and the light around me will be as night,”

12 even the darkness is not too dark for you,

and the night shines as the day—

the darkness and the light are alike for you.

5 You are all around me. You are behind me and in front of me.

You hold me in your power.

6 I’m amazed at how well you know me.

It’s more than I can understand.

7 How can I get away from your Spirit?

Where can I go to escape from you?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there.

If I lie down in the deepest parts of the earth, you are also there.

9 Suppose I were to rise with the sun in the east

and then cross over to the west where it sinks into the ocean.

10 Your hand would always be there to guide me.

Your right hand would still be holding me close.

11 Suppose I were to say, “I’m sure the darkness will hide me.

The light around me will become as dark as night.”

12 Even that darkness would not be dark to you.

The night would shine like the day,

because darkness is like light to you.