Psalm 138-139
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 138
Thanksgiving and Praise
Of David.
1 I give you thanks, O Lord,[a] with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;(A)
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted your name and your word
above everything.[b](B)
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
you increased my strength of soul.[c](C)
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth.(D)
5 They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he perceives from far away.(E)
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
and your right hand delivers me.(F)
8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.(G)
Psalm 139
The Inescapable God
To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.(H)
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.(I)
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.(J)
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.(K)
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.(L)
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.(M)
7 Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?(N)
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.(O)
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.(P)
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and night wraps itself around me,”[d](Q)
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.(R)
13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.(S)
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.(T)
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.(U)
16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.[e]
17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!(V)
18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the end[f]—I am still with you.
19 O that you would kill the wicked, O God,
and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—(W)
20 those who speak of you maliciously
and lift themselves up against you for evil
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?(Y)
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.(Z)
24 See if there is any wicked[h] way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.[i](AA)
Footnotes
- 138.1 Q mss Gk: MT lacks O Lord
- 138.2 Cn: Heb you have exalted your word above all your name
- 138.3 Syr Compare Gk Tg: Heb you made me arrogant in my soul with strength
- 139.11 Q ms: MT and the light around me become night
- 139.16 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 139.18 Or I awake
- 139.20 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 139.24 Heb hurtful
- 139.24 Or the ancient way
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.