The Book of Psalms

⭑ Douay-Rheims :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 139 -

You have searched me and known me

Lord, thou hast proved me, and known me:

Thou hast know my sitting down, and my rising up.

Thou hast understood my thoughts afar off: my path and my line thou hast searched out.

And thou hast foreseen all my ways: for there is no speech in my tongue.

Behold, O Lord, thou hast known all things, the last and those of old: thou hast formed me, and hast laid thy hand upon me.

Thy knowledge is become wonderful to me: it is high, and I cannot reach to it.

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy face?

If I ascend into heaven, thou art there: if I descend into hell, thou art present.

If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea:

Even there also shall thy hand lead me: and thy right hand shall hold me.

And I said: Perhaps darkness shall cover me: and night shall be my light in my pleasures.

But darkness shall not be dark to thee, and night shall be light as day: the darkness thereof, and the light thereof are alike to thee.

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast protected me from my mother’s womb.

I will praise thee, for thou art fearfully magnified: wonderful are thy works, and my soul knoweth right well.

My bone is not hidden from thee, which thou hast made in secret: and my substance in the lower parts of the earth.

Thy eyes did see my imperfect being, and in thy book all shall be written: days shall be formed, and no one in them.

But to me thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly honourable: their principality is exceedingly strengthened.

I will number them, and they shall be multiplied above the sand: I rose up and am still with thee.

If thou wilt kill the wicked, O God: ye men of blood, depart from me:

Because you say in thought: They shall receive thy cities in vain.

Have I not hated them, O Lord, that hated thee: and pine away because of thy enemies?

I have hated them with a perfect hatred: and they are become enemies to me.

Prove me, O God, and know my heart: examine me, and know my paths.

And see if there be in me the way of iniquity: and lead me in the eternal way.

You have searched me and known me

LORD, you have searched me, and you know me.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Your 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Footnotes

(a)139:8 Sheol is the place of the dead.