Psalm 139

¹O Lord , you examine me and know.[#tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.]

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

even from far away you understand my motives.

³You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest;[#tn Heb “my traveling and my lying down you measure.” The verb זָרָה (zarah, “to measure”) is probably here a denominative from זָרָת (zarat, “a span; a measure”), though some derive it from זָרָה (zarat, “to winnow; to sift”; see BDB 279-80 s.v. זָרָה).]

you are aware of everything I do.

⁴Certainly my tongue does not frame a word[#tn Or “for.”]

without you, O Lord , being thoroughly aware of it.

⁵You squeeze me in from behind and in front;

you place your hand on me.

⁶Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension;

it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.

⁷Where can I go to escape your spirit?

Where can I flee to escape your presence?

⁸If I were to ascend to heaven, you would be there.[#tn The Hebrew verb סָלַק (salaq, “to ascend”) occurs only here in the OT, but the word is well-attested in Aramaic literature from different time periods and displays a wide semantic range (see DNWSI 2:788-90).]

If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be.

⁹If I were to fly away on the wings of the dawn,[#tn Heb “rise up.”; #sn On the wings of the dawn. This personification of the “dawn” may find its roots in mythological traditions about the god Shachar, whose birth is described in an Ugaritic myth (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 126) and who is mentioned in Isa 14:12 as the father of Helel.]

and settle down on the other side of the sea,

¹⁰even there your hand would guide me,

your right hand would grab hold of me.

¹¹If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me,[#tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּף (shuf), which means “to crush; to wound,” in Gen 3:15 and Job 9:17, is problematic here. For a discussion of attempts to relate the verb to Arabic roots, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 251. Many emend the form to יְשׂוּכֵּנִי (yesukkeniy), from the root שׂכך (“to cover,” an alternate form of סכך), a reading assumed in the present translation.]

and the light will turn to night all around me,”

¹²even the darkness is not too dark for you to see,[#tn The words “to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.]

and the night is as bright as day;

darkness and light are the same to you.

¹³Certainly you made my mind and heart;[#tn Or “for.”; #tn Heb “my kidneys.” The kidneys were sometimes viewed as the seat of one’s emotions and moral character (cf. Pss 7:9; 26:2). A number of translations, recognizing that “kidneys” does not communicate this idea to the modern reader, have generalized the concept: “inmost being” (NAB, NIV); “inward parts” (NASB, NRSV); “the delicate, inner parts of my body” (NLT). In the last instance, the focus is almost entirely on the physical body rather than the emotions or moral character. The present translation, by using a hendiadys (one concept expressed through two terms), links the concepts of emotion (heart) and moral character (mind).]

you wove me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing.[#tc Heb “because awesome things, I am distinct, amazing [are] your works.” The text as it stands is syntactically problematic and makes little, if any, sense. The Niphal of פָּלָה (pala’) occurs elsewhere only in Exod 33:16. Many take the form from פָלָא (pala’; see GKC 216 §75.qq), which in the Niphal perfect means “to be amazing” (see 2 Sam 1:26; Ps 118:23; Prov 30:18). Some, following the LXX and some other ancient witnesses, also prefer to emend the verb from first to second person, “you are amazing” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 249, 251). The present translation assumes the text conflates two variants: נפלאים, the otherwise unattested masculine plural participle of פָלָא, and נִפְלָאוֹת (nifla’ot), the usual (feminine) plural form of the Niphal participle. The latter has been changed to a verb by later scribes in an attempt to accommodate it syntactically. The original text likely read, נוראות נפלאותים מעשׂיך (“your works [are] awesome [and] amazing”).]

You knew me thoroughly;

¹⁵my bones were not hidden from you,

when I was made in secret

and sewed together in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb.[#tn Heb “Your eyes saw my shapeless form.” The Hebrew noun גֹּלֶם (golem) occurs only here in the OT. In later Hebrew the word refers to “a lump, a shapeless or lifeless substance,” and to “unfinished matter, a vessel wanting finishing” (Jastrow 222 s.v. גּוֹלֶם). The translation employs the dynamic rendering “when I was inside the womb” to clarify that the speaker was still in his mother’s womb at the time he was “seen” by God.]

All the days ordained for me

were recorded in your scroll

before one of them came into existence.

¹⁷How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God![#tn Heb “and to me how precious are your thoughts, O God.” The Hebrew verb יָקַר (yaqar) probably has the sense of “difficult [to comprehend]” here (see HALOT 432 s.v. יקר qal.1 and note the use of Aramaic יַקִּר in Dan 2:11). Elsewhere in the immediate context the psalmist expresses his amazement at the extent of God’s knowledge about him (see vv. 1-6, 17b-18).]

How vast is their sum total!

¹⁸If I tried to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand.

Even if I finished counting them,

I would still have to contend with you.

¹⁹If only you would kill the wicked, O God![#tn The Hebrew particle אִם (’im, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (see Pss 81:8; 95:7, as well as GKC 321 §109.b).]

Get away from me, you violent men!

²⁰They rebel against you and act deceitfully;[#tn Heb “who.”; #tc Heb “they speak [of] you.” The suffixed form of the verb אָמַר (’amar, “to speak”) is peculiar. The translation assumes an emendation to יַמְרֻךָ (yamrukha), a Hiphil form from מָרָה (marah, “to rebel”; see Ps 78:40).; #tn Heb “by deceit.”]

your enemies lie.

²¹O Lord , do I not hate those who hate you,

and despise those who oppose you?

²²I absolutely hate them,[#tn Heb “[with] completeness of hatred I hate them.”]

they have become my enemies!

²³Examine me, and probe my thoughts![#tn Heb “and know my heart.”]

Test me, and know my concerns!

²⁴See if there is any idolatrous tendency in me,[#tn Many understand the Hebrew term עֹצֶב (’otsev) as a noun meaning “pain,” and translate the phrase דֶּרֶךְ עֹצֶב (derekh ’otsev) as “of pain,” but this makes little sense here. (Some interpret it to refer to actions which bring pain to others.) It is preferable to take עֹצֶב as “idol” (see HALOT 865 s.v. I עֹצֶב) and understand “way of an idol” to refer to idolatrous actions or tendency. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.]

and lead me in the reliable ancient path!