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Psalm 139-141
New Living Translation
Psalm 139-141
New Living Translation
Psalm 139
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me,[b] O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Psalm 140
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, rescue me from evil people.
Protect me from those who are violent,
2 those who plot evil in their hearts
and stir up trouble all day long.
3 Their tongues sting like a snake;
the venom of a viper drips from their lips. Interlude
4 O Lord, keep me out of the hands of the wicked.
Protect me from those who are violent,
for they are plotting against me.
5 The proud have set a trap to catch me;
they have stretched out a net;
they have placed traps all along the way. Interlude
6 I said to the Lord, “You are my God!”
Listen, O Lord, to my cries for mercy!
7 O Sovereign Lord, the strong one who rescued me,
you protected me on the day of battle.
8 Lord, do not let evil people have their way.
Do not let their evil schemes succeed,
or they will become proud. Interlude
9 Let my enemies be destroyed
by the very evil they have planned for me.
10 Let burning coals fall down on their heads.
Let them be thrown into the fire
or into watery pits from which they can’t escape.
11 Don’t let liars prosper here in our land.
Cause great disasters to fall on the violent.
12 But I know the Lord will help those they persecute;
he will give justice to the poor.
13 Surely righteous people are praising your name;
the godly will live in your presence.
Psalm 141
A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry!
Listen when I cry to you for help!
2 Accept my prayer as incense offered to you,
and my upraised hands as an evening offering.
3 Take control of what I say, O Lord,
and guard my lips.
4 Don’t let me drift toward evil
or take part in acts of wickedness.
Don’t let me share in the delicacies
of those who do wrong.
5 Let the godly strike me!
It will be a kindness!
If they correct me, it is soothing medicine.
Don’t let me refuse it.
But I pray constantly
against the wicked and their deeds.
6 When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff,
the wicked will listen to my words and find them true.
7 Like rocks brought up by a plow,
the bones of the wicked will lie scattered without burial.[c]
8 I look to you for help, O Sovereign Lord.
You are my refuge; don’t let them kill me.
9 Keep me from the traps they have set for me,
from the snares of those who do wrong.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
but let me escape.
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.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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.