Passage
Psalms 139.13
Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
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ASV (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)
"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)
"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. hideth: Heb. darkeneth not the darkness and: Heb. as is the darkness, so is the light"
"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. right: Heb. greatly 15. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. substance: or, strength, or, body" (Psalms 139:11-15, KJV)
YLT (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.)
Quoted in
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 (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- 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 for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.