King James Version

Psalm 139

Psalm 139 is a psalm of David about a God who knows him completely, is present everywhere he could go, and formed him in his mother's womb. It includes the line "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" and ends with the prayer, "Search me, O God, and know my heart."

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Psalm 139 (KJV)

O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me v. 1-6

¹O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.

²Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

³Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

⁴For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.

⁵Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

Whither shall I flee from thy presence? v. 7-12

⁷Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

⁸If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

⁹If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

¹⁰Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

¹¹If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

¹²Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Fearfully and wonderfully made v. 13-18

¹³For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

¹⁵My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

¹⁶Thine 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.

¹⁷How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

¹⁸If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

Against the wicked v. 19-22

¹⁹Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.

²⁰For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.

²¹Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?

²²I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.

Search me, O God v. 23-24

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

²⁴And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

What Psalm 139 means

Verses 1-6 are about being known. God knows when David sits down and rises up, understands his thoughts from afar, and knows every word before it reaches his tongue. David does not find this frightening so much as overwhelming: "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me."

Verses 7-12 are about God's presence. David imagines going as far as he can in every direction: up to heaven, down to the grave (hell in the KJV means the place of the dead), to the uttermost parts of the sea on the wings of the morning. Everywhere he goes, "even there shall thy hand lead me." Not even darkness hides him, because the darkness and the light are both alike to God.

Verses 13-18 are about being made. God covered him in his mother's womb, and David responds with praise: "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." God's eyes saw his substance yet being unperfect, and all his members were written in God's book, fashioned when as yet there was none of them. God's thoughts toward him are precious and more in number than the sand.

Verses 19-22 surprise many readers. David turns sharply against the wicked and bloody men who speak against God, saying he hates them with perfect hatred. Readers have understood this as loyalty: David takes God's side against those who oppose him.

Then he turns the searchlight on himself. The psalm that began "thou hast searched me" ends asking God to do it again: search me, know my heart, try my thoughts, see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Background and context

The KJV title is To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, so it was given to the leader of the temple music. It sits in the last book of the Psalms, among a group of David's psalms (138-145).

Verses 13-16 are often cited in discussions of the value of unborn life, since they describe God forming a person in the womb.

Key verses

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Psalm 139:7 · KJV

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
Psalm 139:14 · KJV

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24 · KJV

Cross references

Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee."Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Jeremiah 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him?Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
Hebrews 4:13 All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Amos 9:2 Whether they dig into hell or climb to heaven, God's hand reaches them.Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
Jonah 1:3 Jonah tries to flee from the presence of the LORD by sea.But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
Jeremiah 17:10 "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins."I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
Matthew 10:30 The very hairs of your head are all numbered.But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Quick quiz

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Common questions

What is Psalm 139 about?

That God knows us completely, is present wherever we go, and formed each of us in the womb. It ends with David inviting God to search his heart.

Who wrote Psalm 139?

The KJV title reads To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

Where is 'fearfully and wonderfully made' in the Bible?

Psalm 139:14: "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

What does 'hell' mean in Psalm 139:8?

The Hebrew word is sheol, the grave or the place of the dead. David is naming the lowest place he could imagine, opposite to heaven.

Why does Psalm 139 talk about hating the wicked?

Verses 19-22 express David's loyalty to God against those who speak against him wickedly. He immediately follows it by asking God to search his own heart for any wicked way.