Version: King James Version (public domain)
Psalm 139
O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Psalm 139 opens with “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.” It is a meditation on a God who knows every thought, is present everywhere and formed each person in the mother’s womb.
Bible text
1 O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Thine 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.
17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
19 Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
20 For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
21 Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Original text
v. 1: Lamnatse’ach leDavid mizmor. Adonai chakartani vateda.
Plain-language version
vv. 1–6 God, you know everything about me: when I sit, when I stand, what I will say before I say it. This is too much for me to understand.
vv. 7–12 There is nowhere I can run from you: not heaven, not the grave, not the far side of the sea. Even darkness is light to you.
vv. 13–18 You formed me in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I was made in a wonderful way. Your eyes saw me before I was born.
vv. 19–24 The psalmist asks God to put an end to the violent and, in the end, stands before him: search me, know my heart and lead me in the everlasting way.
Historical context
Authorship. The heading reads “To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.” Many scholars notice Aramaic words and forms in the Hebrew, which suggests a post-exilic composition; others keep the traditional attribution to David.
Structure. The psalm moves in four stages: God knows (vv. 1–6), God is everywhere (vv. 7–12), God formed me (vv. 13–18) and the closing plea (vv. 19–24). Verses 1 and 23 use the same verb, “search” (chaqar), framing the poem.
Reins and heart. In verse 13 the KJV keeps the Hebrew “reins” (kidneys), which in the Bible stand for a person’s inner life, feelings and conscience.
Explanation
Being known
The psalm does not present God’s knowledge as threatening surveillance but as something that leaves the psalmist in awe: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me” (v. 6). Being fully known, even in what has not yet been said, is treated as care.
Whither shall I go?
“Whither shall I go from thy spirit?” (v. 7). The images cover everything: heaven and the grave, the wings of the morning and the uttermost parts of the sea, light and darkness. No distance separates a person from God.
Fearfully and wonderfully made
Verse 14 is among the most quoted: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Verse 16 uses a rare word, golmi, “my substance, yet being unperfect”, which appears only here in the Bible.
Search me
After saying God already knows him, the psalmist asks to be searched (vv. 23–24). Not to inform God, but to be corrected: “see if there be any wicked way in me”.
How each tradition reads it
Catholic
In the Vulgate numbering it is Psalm 138, “Domine, probasti me”. It is prayed in the Liturgy of the Hours, and verses 13–16 are often cited in Catholic writing on the dignity of life from conception.
Protestant
Many Protestants use verses 23–24 as a prayer of self-examination, and verse 14 in teaching on identity and self-worth grounded in God. Verses 13–16 also appear in debates about life before birth.
Jewish
In verse 5 (“thou hast beset me behind and before”), the Hebrew verb tsartani can mean “beset” or “formed”. The Talmud reads it as “formed” and takes it as a sign that Adam was created with two faces (Berakhot 61a). The word golem from verse 16 is used to describe Adam before he received the breath of life (Sanhedrin 38b), and this is the source of the “golem” of Jewish folklore.
Academic
Scholars debate the genre: a wisdom hymn, the prayer of someone falsely accused who asks God to examine his innocence, or both. Verses 19–22, against the “wicked”, often trouble modern readers; read in that key, they are the psalmist siding with God against violence.
Each reading is attributed to the tradition that holds it. VersePath does not take sides.
Reflect
It is possible to be afraid of being fully known. The psalm invites the opposite: letting God see even what you hide from yourself. What would you ask God to search in you today?
Did you know?
- The word golmi (v. 16) appears only here in the Bible and is the origin of the term “golem”.
- The psalm contains several Aramaic forms, one reason scholars date its composition after the exile.
- Verses 1 and 23 use the same verb, “search”, opening and closing the poem.
Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of Psalm 139?
It is a meditation on being known by God: he knows everything, is everywhere and formed each person. The psalm ends by asking God to search the heart and lead in the everlasting way.
Who wrote Psalm 139?
The heading attributes it to David. Some scholars, based on the language, think of a later composition.
What does “fearfully and wonderfully made” mean?
It is praise for the forming of body and life in the womb, seen as God’s careful work (vv. 13–16). “Fearfully” here means with awe-inspiring care.
When should I pray Psalm 139?
In times of self-examination, insecurity about your own worth or a sense of being far from God.