Passage

Psalms 139.17

Book: Psalms · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

15. My frame was not hidden from thee, When I was made in secret, And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16. Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

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

If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: When I awake, I am still with thee. 19. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: Depart from me therefore, ye bloodthirsty men. (Psalms 139:15-19, ASV)

WEB

15. My frame wasn’t hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth. 16. 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.

17. 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. 19. If only you, God, would kill the wicked. Get away from me, you bloodthirsty men! (Psalms 139:15-19, WEB)

KJV

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} 16. Thine 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. ^{all: Heb. all of them} ^{which: or, what days they should be fashioned}

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

If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. 19. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. (Psalms 139:15-19, KJV)

YLT

15. My substance was not hid from Thee, When I was made in secret, Curiously wrought in the lower part of earth. 16. Mine unformed substance Thine eyes saw, And on Thy book all of them are written, The days they were formed, And not one among them.

17. And to me how precious have been Thy thoughts, O God, how great hath been their sum!

I recount them! than the sand they are more, I have waked, and I am still with Thee. 19. Dost Thou slay, O God, the wicked? Then, men of blood, turn aside from me! (Psalms 139:15-19, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

None of the words in this verse has its own lexicon entry yet.

Quoted in

Concepts:

God's Love for Creation

Notes

Your annotations.

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.