Psalms — Chapter 139
For the leader. Of David. A psalm.O ETERNAL One, You have examined me and know me.
When I sit down or stand up You know it;You discern my thoughts from afar.
You observeaYou observe Meaning of Heb. uncertain. my walking and reclining,and are familiar with all my ways.
There is not a word on my tonguebut that You, O ETERNAL One, know it well.
You hedge me before and behind;You lay Your hand upon me.
It is beyond my knowledge;it is a mystery; I cannot fathom it.
Where can I escape from Your spirit?Where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;if I descend to Sheol, You are there too.
If I take wing with the dawnto come to rest on the western horizon,
even there Your hand will be guiding me,Your right hand will be holding me fast.
If I say, “Surely darkness will conceal me,night will provide me with cover,”bwill conceal me, / night will provide me with cover Cf. Rashi, Ibn Ezra; meaning of Heb. uncertain.
darkness is not dark for You;night is as light as day;darkness and light are the same.
It was You who created my conscience;cconscience Lit. “kidneys.” You fashioned me in my mother’s womb.
I praise You,for I am awesomely, wondrously made;Your work is wonderful;I know it very well.
My frame was not concealed from Youwhen I was shaped in a hidden place,knit together in the recesses of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed limbs;they were all recorded in Your book;in due time they were formed,to the very last one of them.dto the very last one of them Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
How weighty Your thoughts seem to me, O God,how great their number!
I count them—they exceed the grains of sand;I end—but am still with You.
O God, if You would only slay the wicked—you murderers, away from me!—
who invoke You for intrigue,Your enemies who swear by You falsely.ewho invoke You … falsely Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
O ETERNAL One, You know I hate those who hate You,and loathe Your adversaries.
I feel a perfect hatred toward them;I count them my enemies.
Examine me, O God, and know my mind;probe me and know my thoughts.
See if I have vexatious ways,and guide me in ways everlasting.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
The Path to Wisdom
Dhammapada 20:282
“Wisdom springs from meditation; without meditation wisdom wanes.”
Analects 2:11
“If you study the past and use it to understand the present, you are worthy of being a teacher.”
Tao Te Ching 33
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.”
Quran 39:9
“Are those who know equal to those who do not know?”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Dhammapada 1:1-2
“Mind is the forerunner of all actions. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.”
Bhagavad Gita 16:21
“There are three gates to self-destructive hell: lust, anger, and greed. Therefore, one must learn to give these up.”