Psalms 139
1 For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. LORD, you have examined me and know me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise; from far away you understand my thoughts.
3 You watch me as I walk and lie down, and you know all my ways well.
4 For there is no word on my tongue that you, LORD, do not know completely.
5 You surround me behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
6 This knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high—I cannot reach it.
7 Where could I go, far from your Spirit? Where could I flee, far from your presence?
8 If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I lie down in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn and dwell at the farthest edge of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, and your right hand will hold me.
11 I said, “Surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me will turn to night.”
12 But even darkness is not dark to you; the night shines like the day, and darkness is like light.
13 For you formed my innermost parts; you wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I give you thanks because I was made in a way that is wonderful and awe-inspiring. Your works are wonderful, and my soul knows this very well.
15 My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my embryo; in your book they were all written—the days that were formed, when there was one of them.
17 How precious your thoughts are to me, O God! How vast their sum!
18 If I counted them, they would be more than the sand. I wake, and I am still with you.
19 Oh, that you would kill the wicked, O God! Men of blood, get away from me!
20 They are the ones who speak of you with evil intent; your enemies rise up in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD, and feel disgust for those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred; they have become my enemies.
23 Examine me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any harmful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.
Read and listen to this chapter in the Shalem app, free: narration, chapter video and reading progress. Get the app