Psalms 139

₁LORD, you have examined me and you know me.

₂You know everything I do;

from far away you understand all my thoughts.

₃You see me, whether I am working or resting;

you know all my actions.

₄Even before I speak,

you already know what I will say.

₅You are all round me on every side;

you protect me with your power.

₆Your knowledge of me is too deep;

it is beyond my understanding.

₇Where could I go to escape from you?

Where could I get away from your presence?

₈If I went up to heaven, you would be there;

if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there.

₉If I flew away beyond the east

or lived in the farthest place in the west,

₁₀you would be there to lead me,

you would be there to help me.

₁₁I could ask the darkness to hide me

or the light round me to turn into night,

₁₂but even darkness is not dark for you,

and the night is as bright as the day.

Darkness and light are the same to you.

₁₃You created every part of me;

you put me together in my mother's womb.

₁₄I praise you because you are to be feared;

all you do is strange and wonderful.

I know it with all my heart.

₁₅When my bones were being formed,

carefully put together in my mother's womb,

when I was growing there in secret,

you knew that I was there —

₁₆you saw me before I was born.

The days allotted to me

had all been recorded in your book,

before any of them ever began.

₁₇O God, how difficult I find your thoughts;

how many of them there are!

₁₈If I counted them, they would be more than the grains of sand.

When I awake, I am still with you.

₁₉O God, how I wish you would kill the wicked!

How I wish violent people would leave me alone!

₂₀They say wicked things about you;

they speak evil things against your name.

₂₁O LORD, how I hate those who hate you!

How I despise those who rebel against you!

₂₂I hate them with a total hatred;

I regard them as my enemies.

₂₃Examine me, O God, and know my mind;

test me, and discover my thoughts.

₂₄Find out if there is any evil in me

and guide me in the everlasting way.