Revised Standard Version RSV
GOD'S WORD Translation GW
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me and known me!
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O LORD, you have examined me, and you know me.
2 Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar.
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You alone know when I sit down and when I get up. You read my thoughts from far away.
3 Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
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You watch me when I travel and when I rest. You are familiar with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
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Even before there is a [single] word on my tongue, you know all about it, LORD.
5 Thou dost beset me behind and before, and layest thy hand upon me.
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You are all around me--in front of me and in back of me. You lay your hand on me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.
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Such knowledge is beyond my grasp. It is so high I cannot reach it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
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Where can I go [to get away] from your Spirit? Where can I run [to get away] from you?
8 If I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there!
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If I go up to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in hell, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
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If I climb upward on the rays of the morning sun [or] land on the most distant shore of the sea where the sun sets,
10 even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
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even there your hand would guide me and your right hand would hold on to me.
11 If I say, "Let only darkness cover me, and the light about me be night,"
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If I say, "Let the darkness hide me and let the light around me turn into night,"
12 even the darkness is not dark to thee, the night is bright as the day; for darkness is as light with thee.
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even the darkness is not too dark for you. Night is as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same [to you].
13 For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb.
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You alone created my inner being. You knitted me together inside my mother.
14 I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well;
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I will give thanks to you because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made. Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this.
15 my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.
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My bones were not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, when I was being skillfully woven in an underground workshop.
16 Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance; in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
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Your eyes saw me when I was only a fetus. Every day [of my life] was recorded in your book before one of them had taken place.
17 How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
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How precious are your thoughts concerning me, O God! How vast in number they are!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand. When I awake, I am still with thee.
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If I try to count them, there would be more of them than there are grains of sand. When I wake up, I am still with you.
19 O that thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God, and that men of blood would depart from me,
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I wish that you would kill wicked people, O God, and that bloodthirsty people would leave me alone.
20 men who maliciously defy thee, who lift themselves up against thee for evil!
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They say wicked things about you. Your enemies misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate them that hate thee, O LORD? And do I not loathe them that rise up against thee?
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Shouldn't I hate those who hate you, O LORD? Shouldn't I be disgusted with those who attack you?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.
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I hate them with all my heart. They have become my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
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Examine me, O God, and know my mind. Test me, and know my thoughts.
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
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See whether I am on an evil path. Then lead me on the everlasting path.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.