For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by Dawud.
1YAHWEH,1 you have searched me,
And you know me.
2You know my sitting down and my rising up.
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
3You search out my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4For there is not a word on my tongue,
But, behold, YAHWEH, you know it altogether.
5You hem me in behind and before.
You laid your hand on me.
6This knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty.
I cannot attain it.
7Where could I go from your Spirit?
Or where could I flee from your presence?
8If I ascend up into heaven, you are there.
If I make my bed in the grave, behold, you are there!
9If I take the wings of the dawn,
And settle on the most distant shore of the sea;
10Even there your hand will lead me,
And your right hand will hold me.
11If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me;
The light around me will be night;”
12Even the darkness does not hide from you,
But the night shines as the day.
The darkness is like light to you.
13For you formed my inmost being.
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14I will give thanks to you,
For I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful.
My soul knows that very well.
15My frame wasn’t hidden from you,
When I was made in secret,
Woven together in the depths of the earth.
16Your eyes saw my body.
In your book they were all written,
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
17How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18If I would count them, they are more in number than the sand.
When I wake up, I am still with you.
19If only you, God,2 would kill the wicked.
Get away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20For they speak against you wickedly.
Your enemies take your Name in vain.
21YAHWEH, do not I hate those who hate you?
Am I not grieved with those who rise up against you?
22I hate them with perfect hatred.
They have become my enemies.
23Search me, God, and know my heart.
Try me, and know my thoughts.
24See if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.
- 139:1 YAHWEH, the name God revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.” ↩︎
- 139:19 God, English translation of eloah (Hebrew), which is related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎