# Psalms 139.13

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**Book:** [Psalms](/codex/psalms/) · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 11. If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me, And the light about me shall be night; 12. Even the darkness hideth not from thee, But the night shineth as the day: The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
>
> **13. For thou didst form my inward parts: Thou didst cover me in my mother's womb.**
>
> 14. I will give thanks unto thee; For I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Wonderful are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well. 15. My frame was not hidden from thee, When I was made in secret, And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. (Psalms 139:11-15, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 11. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me; the light around me will be night”; 12. even the darkness doesn’t hide from you, but the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.
>
> **13. For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb.**
>
> 14. I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well. 15. My frame wasn’t hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth. (Psalms 139:11-15, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 11. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. <sup>hideth: Heb. darkeneth not</sup> <sup>the darkness and: Heb. as is the darkness, so is the light</sup>
>
> **13. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.**
>
> 14. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. <sup>right: Heb. greatly</sup> 15. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. <sup>substance: or, strength, or, body</sup> (Psalms 139:11-15, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 11. And I say, 'Surely darkness bruiseth me, Then night [is] light to me. 12. Also darkness hideth not from Thee, And night as day shineth, as [is] darkness so [is] light.
>
> **13. For Thou, Thou hast possessed my reins, Thou dost cover me in my mother's belly.**
>
> 14. I confess Thee, because that [with] wonders I have been distinguished. Wonderful [are] Thy works, And my soul is knowing [it] well. 15. My substance was not hid from Thee, When I was made in secret, Curiously wrought in the lower part of earth. (Psalms 139:11-15, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** various (David majority; Asaph, Korah, Moses, Solomon, anonymous)
- **Audience:** worshipping Israel (corporate + individual devotion)
- **Location:** Israel, various periods
- **Time period:** composition spans c. 1400 BC (Moses, Ps 90), c. 400 BC; principal Davidic composition c. 1000 BC

## Theological reading

## Key words

_No Strong's-tagged lexicon matches found in this passage. (Lexicon coverage is curated, ~159 of the most apologetically-loaded Greek/Hebrew terms.)_

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.

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## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [Argument from Origin of Life](/codex/argument-from-origin-of-life/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Argument from Personal Identity](/codex/argument-from-the-memory-continuity-convergence/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Argument from the Memory-Continuity Convergence](/codex/argument-from-the-memory-continuity-convergence/), via [Psalms 139](/codex/psalms-139/), [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Atheism Cannot Justify Compassion](/codex/atheism-cannot-justify-compassion/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Biblical Sexual Ethics Objection Defeater](/codex/biblical-sexual-ethics-objection-defeater/), via [Psalms 139.13-14](/codex/psalms-139-13-14/)
- [Chirality Argument](/codex/chirality-argument/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Edge of Evolution Argument](/codex/edge-of-evolution-argument/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Harm-Reduction Cannot Ground Morality (Defeater)](/codex/harm-reduction-cannot-ground-morality-defeater/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Information Argument](/codex/information-argument/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Interdependency Argument](/codex/interdependency-argument/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Irreducible Complexity Argument](/codex/interdependency-argument/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Molecular Machines Argument](/codex/molecular-machines-argument/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Orphan Genes Argument](/codex/orphan-genes-argument/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Protein Sequence Space Argument](/codex/protein-sequence-space-argument/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Signature in the Cell Argument](/codex/signature-in-the-cell-argument/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Specified Complexity Argument](/codex/specified-complexity-argument/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Universal Probability Bound](/codex/universal-probability-bound/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)

**Concepts:**

- [Abortion](/codex/abortion/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Genetic Code](/codex/genetic-code/)
- [Irreducible Complexity](/codex/irreducible-complexity/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Laws of the Universe as Witness to Design](/codex/laws-of-the-universe-as-witness-to-design/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Orphan Genes](/codex/orphan-genes/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Pro-Life Premise-Based Argument](/codex/pro-life-premise-based-argument/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Soul and Spirit, Origin and Awareness](/codex/soul-and-spirit-origin-and-awareness/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)
- [Verses on Gods Goodness and Human Worth](/codex/verses-on-gods-goodness-and-human-worth/), via [Psalms 139.13-16](/codex/psalms-139-13-16/)

**Passages:**

- [Jeremiah 1.5](/codex/jeremiah-1-5/)
- [Numbers 5.11-31](/codex/numbers-5-11-31/)

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