Passage

Psalms 139.2-4

Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. ^{For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.} O Jehovah, thou hast searched me, and known me."

"2. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; Thou understandest my thought afar off. 3. Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, And art acquainted with all my ways. 4. For there is not a word in my tongue, But, lo, O Jehovah, thou knowest it altogether."

"5. Thou hast beset me behind and before, And laid thy hand upon me. 6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain unto it." (Psalms 139:1-6, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. Yahweh, you have searched me, and you know me."

"2. You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar. 3. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. 4. For there is not a word on my tongue, but, behold, Yahweh, you know it altogether."

"5. You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me. 6. This knowledge is beyond me. It’s lofty. I can’t attain it." (Psalms 139:1-6, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me."

"2. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 3. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. ^{compassest: or, winnowest} 4. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether."

"5. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it." (Psalms 139:1-6, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. To the Overseer., A Psalm by David. Jehovah, Thou hast searched me, and knowest."

"2. Thou, Thou hast known my sitting down, And my rising up, Thou hast attended to my thoughts from afar. 3. My path and my couch Thou hast fanned, And [with] all my ways hast been acquainted. 4. For there is not a word in my tongue, Lo, O Jehovah, Thou hast known it all!"

"5. Behind and before Thou hast besieged me, And Thou dost place on me Thy hand. 6. Knowledge too wonderful for me, It hath been set on high, I am not able for it." (Psalms 139:1-6, 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

H3045 - yada, yada (Strong's H3045). Also appears in: Genesis 3, Genesis 12, Genesis 19.
H3068 - YHWH, YHWH (Strong's H3068). Also appears in: Genesis 2.4, Genesis 2.7, Genesis 2.16-17.

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.