Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament
Psalms 139
Psalm 139: searched and known, nowhere to flee, made in the womb, search me
General context
The speaker says the Lord has searched and known him: his sitting down and rising, his thought afar off, his path and lying down, every word on his tongue. The Lord has beset him behind and before and laid his hand on him, and the speaker calls this knowledge too wonderful and high for him. He asks where he could go from the Lord's spirit or flee from his presence, and answers that heaven, hell, the wings of the morning and the uttermost parts of the sea are all places where the Lord's hand would lead and hold him, and that darkness and night are as light to the Lord. He says the Lord possessed his reins and covered him in his mother's womb, that he is fearfully and wonderfully made, that his substance was not hidden when he was made in secret, and that in the Lord's book all his members were written before any of them existed. He calls the Lord's thoughts precious and more than the sand, and says that when he wakes he is still with the Lord. He then says the Lord will slay the wicked, tells bloody men to depart, and says he hates those who hate the Lord with perfect hatred. The psalm closes with the speaker asking to be searched, tried, checked for any wicked way and led in the way everlasting.
Cited passages: Psalms 139:1, Psalms 139:2, Psalms 139:4, Psalms 139:5, Psalms 139:6, Psalms 139:7, Psalms 139:8, Psalms 139:9, Psalms 139:10, Psalms 139:12, Psalms 139:13, Psalms 139:14, Psalms 139:15, Psalms 139:16, Psalms 139:17, Psalms 139:18, Psalms 139:19, Psalms 139:22, Psalms 139:23, Psalms 139:24
Psalms 139 (KJV)
1O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
5Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
13For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
14I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
17How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
18If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
19Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
20For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
21Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
22I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
23Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.
Historical context
The source prints no heading for this psalm; verse 1 begins with "O Lord, thou hast searched me", so no title, author or occasion is given and none is asserted. The speaker is a single "I" who is not named and who addresses the Lord throughout, except for one command to "ye bloody men" to depart. No place is named; heaven, hell, the uttermost parts of the sea and darkness are named as extremes of distance, not as locations the speaker visits. "The lowest parts of the earth" in verse 15 is said of where the speaker was "curiously wrought", two verses after "my mother’s womb" in verse 13, and the text does not explain the relation between the two phrases. The "book" in which the members were written is mentioned once and not described. The wicked and bloody men of verses 19-22 are unnamed and their offence is stated as speaking against God and taking his name in vain. The psalm does not say what prompted the speaker's request to be searched at the end. No Selah occurs.
Cited passages: Psalms 139:1, Psalms 139:19, Psalms 139:8, Psalms 139:15, Psalms 139:13, Psalms 139:16, Psalms 139:20, Psalms 139:23
Literary context
The psalm opens and closes on the same verb: "thou hast searched me" becomes "Search me, O God", and "known me" becomes "know my heart". Between the two the poem moves in four parts. Verses 1-6 list what the Lord knows in pairs, downsitting and uprising, path and lying down, behind and before. Verses 7-12 ask two questions and answer them with "If" clauses that reach to the extremes of height, depth and the farthest sea, then to darkness, which is said to shine as the day. Verses 13-18 turn from space to the speaker's own making, from womb to book to the thoughts that outnumber sand. Verses 19-22 break the tone with a wish for the wicked to be slain, a command to bloody men, and a declaration of perfect hatred, with two rhetorical questions, "Do not I hate them" and "am not I grieved". The closing request asks the Lord to do to the speaker's heart what the opening said had already been done, and it ends on "the way everlasting" after asking whether there is "any wicked way in me". Hands recur: the Lord's hand laid on the speaker, his hand leading, his right hand holding.
Cited passages: Psalms 139:1, Psalms 139:23, Psalms 139:2, Psalms 139:3, Psalms 139:5, Psalms 139:7, Psalms 139:12, Psalms 139:13, Psalms 139:18, Psalms 139:19, Psalms 139:21, Psalms 139:24, Psalms 139:10
Key moments
- Searched and known (Psalms 139:1). The speaker says the Lord has searched him and known him.
- Every word known (Psalms 139:4). There is no word on the speaker's tongue the Lord does not know altogether.
- Nowhere to flee (Psalms 139:7). The speaker asks where he could go from the Lord's spirit or flee from his presence.
- Darkness as light (Psalms 139:12). The darkness does not hide from the Lord and night shines as day to him.
- Covered in the womb (Psalms 139:13). The speaker says the Lord possessed his reins and covered him in his mother's womb.
- Perfect hatred (Psalms 139:22). The speaker says he hates those who hate the Lord with perfect hatred.
- Search me, O God (Psalms 139:23). The speaker asks the Lord to search him, try him and know his thoughts.
For reflection
The speaker says the Lord already knows every word on his tongue and every thought afar off, then declares perfect hatred for the wicked, then asks the Lord to search him for any wicked way. What is the speaker asking for at the end that the opening did not already give him?
