ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Psalms 139.7

Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

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.

7. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

  1. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there. 9. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; (Psalms 139:5-9, ASV)
WEB

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.

7. Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?

  1. If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there! 9. If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea; (Psalms 139:5-9, WEB)
KJV

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.

7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

  1. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; (Psalms 139:5-9, KJV)
YLT

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.

7. Whither do I go from Thy Spirit? And whither from Thy face do I flee?

  1. If I ascend the heavens, there Thou [art], And spread out a couch in Sheol, lo, Thee! 9. I take the wings of morning, I dwell in the uttermost part of the sea, (Psalms 139:5-9, 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; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

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.