Psalms 139:17-24

139:17 How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God! ¹ 

How vast is their sum total! ² 

139:18 If I tried to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand.

Even if I finished counting them,

I would still have to contend with you. ³ 

139:19 If only ⁴  you would kill the wicked, O God!

Get away from me, you violent men! ⁵ 

139:20 They ⁶  rebel against you ⁷  and act deceitfully; ⁸ 

your enemies lie. ⁹ 

139:21 O Lord, do I not hate those who hate you,

and despise those who oppose you? ¹⁰ 

139:22 I absolutely hate them, ¹¹ 

they have become my enemies!

139:23 Examine me, and probe my thoughts! ¹² 

Test me, and know my concerns! ¹³ 

139:24 See if there is any idolatrous tendency ¹⁴  in me,

and lead me in the reliable ancient path! ¹⁵ 

[139:17]  ¹ tn Heb “and to me how precious are your thoughts, O God.” The Hebrew verb יָקַר (yaqar) probably has the sense of “difficult [to comprehend]” here (see HALOT 432 s.v. יקר qal.1 and note the use of Aramaic יַקִּר in Dan 2:11). Elsewhere in the immediate context the psalmist expresses his amazement at the extent of God’s knowledge about him (see vv. 1-6, 17b-18).

[139:17]  ² tn Heb “how vast are their heads.” Here the Hebrew word “head” is used of the “sum total” of God’s knowledge of the psalmist.

[139:18]  ³ tc Heb “I awake and I [am] still with you.” A reference to the psalmist awaking from sleep makes little, if any, sense contextually. For this reason some propose an emendation to הֲקִצּוֹתִי (haqitsoti), a Hiphil perfect form from an otherwise unattested verb קָצַץ (qatsats) understood as a denominative of קֵץ (qets, “end”). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 252-53.

[139:19]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew particle אִם (’im, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (see Pss 81:8; 95:7, as well as GKC 321 §109.b).

[139:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “men of bloodshed.”

[139:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “who.”

[139:20]  ⁷ tc Heb “they speak [of] you.” The suffixed form of the verb אָמַר (’amar, “to speak”) is peculiar. The translation assumes an emendation to יַמְרֻךָ (yamrukha), a Hiphil form from מָרָה (marah, “to rebel”; see Ps 78:40).

[139:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “by deceit.”

[139:20]  ⁹ tc Heb “lifted up for emptiness, your cities.” The Hebrew text as it stands makes no sense. The form נָשֻׂא (nasu’; a Qal passive participle) should be emended to נָשְׂאוּ (nosÿu; a Qal perfect, third common plural, “[they] lift up”). Many emend עָרֶיךָ (’arekha, “your cities”) to עָלֶיךָ (’alekha, “against you”), but it is preferable to understand the noun as an Aramaism and translate “your enemies” (see Dan 4:16 and L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 253).

[139:21]  ¹⁰ tc Heb “who raise themselves up against you.” The form וּבִתְקוֹמְמֶיךָ (uvitqomÿmekha) should be emended to וּבְמִתְקוֹמְמֶיךָ (uvÿmitqomÿmekha), a Hitpolel participle (the prefixed mem [מ] of the participle is accidentally omitted in the MT, though a few medieval Hebrew mss have it).

[139:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[with] completeness of hatred I hate them.”

[139:23]  ¹² tn Heb “and know my heart.”

[139:23]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew noun שַׂרְעַפַּי (sar’apay, “concerns”) is used of “worries” in Ps 94:19.

[139:24]  ¹⁴ tn Many understand the Hebrew term עֹצֶב (’otsev) as a noun meaning “pain,” and translate the phrase דֶּרֶךְ עֹצֶב (derekh ’otsev) as “of pain,” but this makes little sense here. (Some interpret it to refer to actions which bring pain to others.) It is preferable to take עֹצֶב as “idol” (see HALOT 865 s.v. I עֹצֶב) and understand “way of an idol” to refer to idolatrous actions or tendency. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.

[139:24]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in the path of antiquity.” This probably refers to the moral path prescribed by the Lord at the beginning of Israel’s history. See Jer 6:16; 18:15, as well as L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.