139 in The Voice

Psalm 139 (from the translation The Voice)

O Eternal One, You have explored my heart and know exactly who I am;

2 You even know the small details like when I take a seat and when I stand up again.

    Even when I am far away, You know what I’m thinking.

3 You observe my wanderings and my sleeping, my waking and my dreaming,

    and You know everything I do in more detail than even I know.

4 You know what I’m going to say long before I say it.

    It is true, Eternal One, that You know everything and everyone.

5 You have surrounded me on every side, behind me and before me,

    and You have placed Your hand gently on my shoulder.

6 It is the most amazing feeling to know how deeply You know me, inside and out;

    the realization of it is so great that I cannot comprehend it.

7 Can I go anywhere apart from Your Spirit?


    Is there anywhere I can go to escape Your watchful presence?



8 If I go up into heaven, You are there.


    If I make my bed in the realm of the dead, You are there.


9 If I ride on the wings of morning,


    if I make my home in the most isolated part of the ocean,


10 Even then You will be there to guide me;


    Your right hand will embrace me, for You are always there.


11 Even if I am afraid and think to myself, “There is no doubt that the darkness will swallow me, the light around me will soon be turned to night,”


12 You can see in the dark, for it is not dark to Your eyes.


    For You the night is just as bright as the day.


    Darkness and light are the same to Your eyes.






13 For You shaped me, inside and out.


    You knitted me together in my mother’s womb long before I took my first breath.


14 I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe.
    You have approached even the smallest details with excellence;


    Your works are wonderful;


I carry this knowledge deep within my soul.


15     You see all things; nothing about me was hidden from You


As I took shape in secret, carefully crafted in the heart of the earth before I was born from its womb.


16 You see all things;


    You saw me growing, changing in my mother’s womb;


Every detail of my life was already written in Your book;


    You established the length of my life before I ever tasted the sweetness of it.


17 Your thoughts and plans are treasures to me, O God! I cherish each and every one of them!


    How grand in scope! How many in number!


18 If I could count each one of them, they would be more than all the grains of sand on earth.
Their number is inconceivable!


    Even when I wake up, I am still near to You.






19 I wish You would destroy all the wicked, O God.


    So keep away from me, those who are thirsty for blood!


20 For they say such horrible things about You,


    and those who are against You abuse Your good name.


21 Is it not true that I hate all who hate You, Eternal One?


    Is it not true that I despise all who come against You?


22 Deep hatred boils within me toward them;


    I am Your friend, and they are my enemies.





23 Explore me, O God, and know the real me. Dig deeply and discover who I am.


    Put me to the test and watch how I handle the strain.


24 Examine me to see if there is an evil bone in me, and guide me down Your path forever.