Psalms 139:8

139:8 If I were to ascend ¹  to heaven, you would be there.

If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be. ² 

Psalms 139:11

139:11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me, ³ 

and the light will turn to night all around me,” ⁴ 

[139:8]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb סָלַק (salaq, “to ascend”) occurs only here in the OT, but the word is well-attested in Aramaic literature from different time periods and displays a wide semantic range (see DNWSI 2:788-90).

[139:8]  ² tn Heb “look, you.”

[139:11]  ³ tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּף (shuf), which means “to crush; to wound,” in Gen 3:15 and Job 9:17, is problematic here. For a discussion of attempts to relate the verb to Arabic roots, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 251. Many emend the form to יְשׂוּכֵּנִי (yesukkeniy), from the root שׂכך (“to cover,” an alternate form of סכך), a reading assumed in the present translation.

[139:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “and night, light, around me.”