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Psalm 139-141
Common English Bible
Psalm 139-141
Common English Bible
Psalm 139
For the music leader. Of David. A song.
139 Lord, you have examined me.
You know me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up.
Even from far away, you comprehend my plans.
3 You study my traveling and resting.
You are thoroughly familiar with all my ways.
4 There isn’t a word on my tongue, Lord,
that you don’t already know completely.
5 You surround me—front and back.
You put your hand on me.
6 That kind of knowledge is too much for me;
it’s so high above me that I can’t reach it.
7 Where could I go to get away from your spirit?
Where could I go to escape your presence?
8 If I went up to heaven, you would be there.
If I went down to the grave,[a] you would be there too!
9 If I could fly on the wings of dawn,
stopping to rest only on the far side of the ocean—
10 even there your hand would guide me;
even there your strong hand would hold me tight!
11 If I said, “The darkness will definitely hide me;
the light will become night around me,”
12 even then the darkness isn’t too dark for you!
Nighttime would shine bright as day,
because darkness is the same as light to you!
13 You are the one who created my innermost parts;
you knit me together while I was still in my mother’s womb.
14 I give thanks to you that I was marvelously set apart.
Your works are wonderful—I know that very well.
15 My bones weren’t hidden from you
when I was being put together in a secret place,
when I was being woven together in the deep parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my embryo,
and on your scroll every day was written that was being formed for me,[b]
before any one of them had yet happened.[c]
17 God, your plans are incomprehensible to me!
Their total number is countless!
18 If I tried to count them—they outnumber grains of sand!
If I came to the very end—I’d still be with you.[d]
19 If only, God, you would kill the wicked!
If only murderers would get away from me—
20 the people who talk about you, but only for wicked schemes;
the people who are your enemies,
who use your name as if it were of no significance.[e]
21 Don’t I hate everyone who hates you?
Don’t I despise those who attack you?
22 Yes, I hate them—through and through!
They’ve become my enemies too.
23 Examine me, God! Look at my heart!
Put me to the test! Know my anxious thoughts!
24 Look to see if there is any idolatrous way[f] in me,
then lead me on the eternal path!
Psalm 140
For the music leader. A psalm of David.
140 Rescue me from evil people, Lord!
Guard me from violent people
2 who plot evil things in their hearts,
who pick fights every single day!
3 They sharpen their tongues like a snake’s;
spider poison[g] is on their lips. Selah
4 Protect me from the power of the wicked, Lord!
Guard me from violent people
who plot to trip me up!
5 Arrogant people have laid a trap for me with ropes.
They’ve spread out a net alongside the road.
They’ve set snares for me. Selah
6 I tell the Lord, “You are my God!
Listen to my request for mercy, Lord!”
7 My Lord God, my strong saving help—
you’ve protected my head on the day of battle.
8 Lord, don’t give the wicked what they want!
Don’t allow their plans to succeed,
or they’ll exalt themselves even more![h] Selah
9 Let the heads of the people surrounding me
be covered with the trouble their own lips caused![i]
10 Let burning coals fall on them!
Let them fall into deep pits and never get out again!
11 Let no slanderer be safe in the land.
Let calamity hunt down violent people—and quickly![j]
12 I know that the Lord will take up the case of the poor
and will do what is right for the needy.
13 Yes, the righteous will give thanks to your name,
and those who do right will live in your presence.
Psalm 141
A psalm of David.
141 I cry out to you, Lord: Come to me—quickly!
Listen to my voice when I cry out to you!
2 Let my prayer stand before you like incense;
let my uplifted hands be like the evening offering.
3 Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
keep close watch over the door that is my lips.
4 Don’t let my heart turn aside to evil things
so that I don’t do wicked things with evildoers,
so I don’t taste their delicacies.
5 Instead, let the righteous discipline me;
let the faithful correct me!
Let my head never reject that kind of fine oil,
because my prayers are always against the deeds of the wicked.[k]
6 Their leaders will fall from jagged cliffs,
but my words will be heard because they are pleasing.[l]
7 Our bones[m] have been scattered at the mouth of the grave,[n]
just like when the ground is broken up and plowed.[o]
8 But my eyes are on you, my Lord God.
I take refuge in you; don’t let me die!
9 Protect me from the trap they’ve set for me;
protect me from the snares of the evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets—all together!—
but let me make it through safely.
Footnotes
- Psalm 139:8 Heb Sheol
- Psalm 139:16 Correction; Heb lacks for me.
- Psalm 139:16 Heb uncertain
- Psalm 139:18 Correction
- Psalm 139:20 Heb lacks your name.
- Psalm 139:24 Correction; cf Tg; LXX, Syr, Vulg painful or wicked or hurtful way
- Psalm 140:3 LXX snake poison
- Psalm 140:8 Heb uncertain
- Psalm 140:9 Heb uncertain
- Psalm 140:11 Heb uncertain
- Psalm 141:5 Heb uncertain
- Psalm 141:6 Heb uncertain
- Psalm 141:7 LXX manuscripts, Syr their bones; DSS (11QPsa) my bones
- Psalm 141:7 Heb Sheol
- Psalm 141:7 Heb uncertain
Psalm 139-141
New International Version
Psalm 139-141
New International Version
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me,(A) Lord,
and you know(B) me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;(C)
you perceive my thoughts(D) from afar.
3 You discern my going out(E) and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.(F)
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.(G)
5 You hem me in(H) behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,(I)
too lofty(J) for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee(K) from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens,(L) you are there;
if I make my bed(M) in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,(N)
your right hand(O) will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark(P) to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;(Q)
you knit me together(R) in my mother’s womb.(S)
14 I praise you(T) because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,(U)
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made(V) in the secret place,
when I was woven together(W) in the depths of the earth.(X)
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained(Y) for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a](Z) God!(AA)
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,(AB)
they would outnumber the grains of sand(AC)—
when I awake,(AD) I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!(AE)
Away from me,(AF) you who are bloodthirsty!(AG)
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries(AH) misuse your name.(AI)
21 Do I not hate those(AJ) who hate you, Lord,
and abhor(AK) those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.(AL)
23 Search me,(AM) God, and know my heart;(AN)
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way(AO) in me,
and lead me(AP) in the way everlasting.
Psalm 140[b]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 Rescue me,(AQ) Lord, from evildoers;
protect me from the violent,(AR)
2 who devise evil plans(AS) in their hearts
and stir up war(AT) every day.
3 They make their tongues as sharp as(AU) a serpent’s;
the poison of vipers(AV) is on their lips.[c]
4 Keep me safe,(AW) Lord, from the hands of the wicked;(AX)
protect me from the violent,
who devise ways to trip my feet.
5 The arrogant have hidden a snare(AY) for me;
they have spread out the cords of their net(AZ)
and have set traps(BA) for me along my path.
6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”(BB)
Hear, Lord, my cry for mercy.(BC)
7 Sovereign Lord,(BD) my strong deliverer,
you shield my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant the wicked(BE) their desires, Lord;
do not let their plans succeed.
9 Those who surround me proudly rear their heads;
may the mischief of their lips engulf them.(BF)
10 May burning coals fall on them;
may they be thrown into the fire,(BG)
into miry pits, never to rise.
11 May slanderers not be established in the land;
may disaster hunt down the violent.(BH)
12 I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor(BI)
and upholds the cause(BJ) of the needy.(BK)
13 Surely the righteous will praise your name,(BL)
and the upright will live(BM) in your presence.(BN)
Psalm 141
A psalm of David.
1 I call to you, Lord, come quickly(BO) to me;
hear me(BP) when I call to you.
2 May my prayer be set before you like incense;(BQ)
may the lifting up of my hands(BR) be like the evening sacrifice.(BS)
3 Set a guard over my mouth,(BT) Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.(BU)
4 Do not let my heart(BV) be drawn to what is evil
so that I take part in wicked deeds(BW)
along with those who are evildoers;
do not let me eat their delicacies.(BX)
5 Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness;
let him rebuke me(BY)—that is oil on my head.(BZ)
My head will not refuse it,
for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.
Footnotes
- Psalm 139:17 Or How amazing are your thoughts concerning me
- Psalm 140:1 In Hebrew texts 140:1-13 is numbered 140:2-14.
- Psalm 140:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 5 and 8.
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.