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Psalm 139
New King James Version

### God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man

#### For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, (A)You have searched me and known me.
2 (B)You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You (C)understand my thought afar off.
3 (D)You [a]comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, (E)You know it altogether.
5 You have [b]hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 (F)Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

7 (G)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 (H)If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
(I)If I make my bed in [c]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 [d]fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, (J)the darkness [e]shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

13 For You formed my inward parts;
You [f]covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for [g]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 (K)My [h]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

17 (L)How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

19 Oh, that You would (M)slay the wicked, O God!
(N)Depart from me, therefore, you [i]bloodthirsty men.
20 For they (O)speak against You wickedly;
[j]Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21 (P)Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with [k]perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.

23 (Q)Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And (R)lead me in the way everlasting.

#### Footnotes

1. Psalm 139:3 Lit. winnow
2. Psalm 139:5 enclosed
3. Psalm 139:8 Or Sheol
4. Psalm 139:11 Vg., Symmachus cover
5. Psalm 139:12 Lit. is not dark
6. Psalm 139:13 wove
7. Psalm 139:14 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. You are fearfully wonderful
8. Psalm 139:15 Lit. bones were
9. Psalm 139:19 Lit. men of bloodshed
10. Psalm 139:20 LXX, Vg. They take Your cities in vain
11. Psalm 139:22 complete

#### Cross references

1. Psalm 139:1 : Ps. 17:3; Jer. 12:3
2. Psalm 139:2 : 2 Kin. 19:27
3. Psalm 139:2 : Is. 66:18; Matt. 9:4
4. Psalm 139:3 : Job 14:16; 31:4
5. Psalm 139:4 : [Heb. 4:13]
6. Psalm 139:6 : Job 42:3; Ps. 40:5
7. Psalm 139:7 : [Jer. 23:24; Amos 9:2–4]
8. Psalm 139:8 : [Amos 9:2–4]
9. Psalm 139:8 : [Job 26:6; Prov. 15:11]
10. Psalm 139:12 : Job 26:6; 34:22; [Dan. 2:22; Heb. 4:13]
11. Psalm 139:15 : Job 10:8, 9; Eccl. 11:5
12. Psalm 139:17 : [Ps. 40:5; Rom. 11:33]
13. Psalm 139:19 : [Is. 11:4]
14. Psalm 139:19 : Ps. 119:115
15. Psalm 139:20 : Jude 15
16. Psalm 139:21 : 2 Chr. 19:2
17. Psalm 139:23 : Job 31:6; Ps. 26:2
18. Psalm 139:24 : Ps. 5:8; 143:10

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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