A thoughtful guide for your walk of faith Read with context, practice with grace.
Wisdom & Poetry · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Psalm 139

Psalm 139 is read especially through the theme of creation, within Book V (Psalms 107–150). Its language invites attentive prayer before quick application.

CreationWisdomPraise
Old Testament

Psalm 139

1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. LORD, you have searched me, and you know me.

2You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar.

3You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.

4For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, LORD, you know it altogether.

5You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me.

6This knowledge is beyond me. It’s lofty. I can’t attain it.

7Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?

8If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there!

9If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me.

11If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me. The light around me will be night,”

12even the darkness doesn’t hide from you, but the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.

13For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well.

15My frame wasn’t hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth.

16Your eyes saw my body. In your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none of them.

17How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is their sum!

18If I would count them, they are more in number than the sand. When I wake up, I am still with you.

19If only you, God, would kill the wicked. Get away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

20For they speak against you wickedly. Your enemies take your name in vain.

21LORD, don’t I hate those who hate you? Am I not grieved with those who rise up against you?

22I hate them with perfect hatred. They have become my enemies.

23Search me, God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts.

24See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.

READ IN CONTEXT

Understanding Psalm 139

Psalm 139 is read especially through the theme of creation, within Book V (Psalms 107–150). Its language invites attentive prayer before quick application. Read it within the complete five-book Psalms collection, then compare its prayer language with the types of prayer found across Scripture. Classification is a reading aid rather than a replacement for the Psalm's own movement and tension.

Collection

Book V (Psalms 107–150). The five-book shape of the Psalter helps readers hear individual prayers within a deliberately arranged collection.

Themes detected

Creation, Wisdom, Praise. Read for these themes while remaining open to tension and secondary movements.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Psalm 139

Psalm 139 contains 24 verses and about 379 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. LORD, you have searched me, and you know me.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 24 closes: “See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include know, will, thoughts, hand, darkness, hate. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Psalm 139

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Psalms 139:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

What kind of Psalm is this?+

Our reading profile emphasizes creation, with related themes of Creation, Wisdom, Praise. Many Psalms blend genres or move between moods, so this label is a guide rather than a rigid classification.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer