Psalm 139:2 kjv
Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
Psalm 139:2 nkjv
You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.
Psalm 139:2 niv
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
Psalm 139:2 esv
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
Psalm 139:2 nlt
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.
Psalm 139 2 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference (Short Note) |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 33:13-15 | "The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the children of man... He who fashions the hearts of them all..." | God sees all people and knows their hearts. |
| Ps 44:21 | "Would not God find it out? For He knows the secrets of the heart." | God has perfect knowledge of innermost thoughts. |
| Ps 94:11 | "The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath." | God comprehends human thoughts, even their futility. |
| Prov 5:21 | "For a man's ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and He ponders all his paths." | God observes and weighs every action. |
| Prov 15:3 | "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good." | God's omnipresent gaze observes all conduct. |
| Jer 17:10 | "I, the LORD, search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways..." | God fully examines motives and intentions. |
| Matt 6:8 | "...your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." | God has foreknowledge of our needs. |
| Lk 16:15 | "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts..." | God discerns true inner character beyond outward appearance. |
| Jn 2:24-25 | "Jesus on His part did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people... He Himself knew what was in man." | Jesus possesses divine insight into human nature. |
| Acts 15:18 | "Known to God from eternity are all His works." | God's knowledge spans all time and creation. |
| Rom 8:27 | "He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit..." | God understands the depths of the heart and the Spirit. |
| 1 Cor 4:5 | "...the Lord will bring to light the things hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart." | God reveals all hidden motives and intentions. |
| Heb 4:12-13 | "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword... discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from His sight..." | God's word (and God Himself) penetrates and knows all inner states. |
| Rev 2:23 | "...and all the churches will know that I am He who searches minds and hearts..." | Christ's divine knowledge includes examining inner beings. |
| 1 Sam 16:7 | "For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." | God evaluates the heart, not just external features. |
| 1 Kgs 8:39 | "For You, You only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind." | Only God has complete knowledge of all human hearts. |
| 1 Chr 28:9 | "...for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought." | God examines all internal workings and intentions. |
| Job 34:21-22 | "For His eyes are on the ways of a man, and He sees all his steps... no gloom or deep darkness for those who work iniquity." | God perfectly observes and illuminates all human actions. |
| Ps 147:5 | "Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure." | God's comprehension is boundless. |
| Isa 40:28 | "...there is no searching of His understanding." | God's knowledge is inscrutable and infinite. |
| Isa 46:10 | "declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done..." | God's perfect foreknowledge of all future events. |
| Eph 1:4 | "...He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world..." | God's foreknowledge and sovereign plan predate creation. |
Psalm 139 verses
Psalm 139 2 Meaning
Psalm 139:2 articulates God's profound and intimate omniscience over human existence. It declares that God possesses complete knowledge of all human actions, whether in rest ("my sitting down") or activity ("my rising up"), and furthermore, He discerns even the deepest, nascent thoughts ("my thought afar off") before they are fully formed or consciously expressed. This verse emphasizes not just awareness, but deep understanding and foreknowledge by the Creator concerning His creation.
Psalm 139 2 Context
Psalm 139 is a profound meditation on the omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence of God, expressed as a hymn of praise and adoration. Often attributed to David, the psalmist reflects on the awe-inspiring reality that God knows him completely – from his physical formation in the womb to his deepest thoughts and future paths. Verse 2 is the foundational statement illustrating God's exhaustive knowledge, setting the stage for subsequent verses that expand on divine presence (omnipresence) and creative power (omnipotence). In the ancient Near Eastern context, where many deities were confined to specific locales or powers, the God of Israel (Yahweh) is depicted here as having universal, absolute, and personal knowledge, fundamentally differentiating Him from other gods. This challenges any belief that human actions or intentions could be hidden from divine sight or that God's power is limited.
Psalm 139 2 Word analysis
- You know (Hebrew: Yada` יָדַע): More than mere intellectual acquaintance, yada` implies intimate, personal, and experiential knowledge. It suggests a knowing born of deep relationship and profound understanding, similar to knowing someone through direct, personal interaction rather than just knowing facts about them. This underscores the personal nature of God's relationship with the psalmist.
- my sitting down (Hebrew: shivti שִׁבְתִּי): This refers to periods of rest, quietude, dwelling, or inactivity. It represents the private moments, the moments of reflection, and the stationary aspects of life.
- and my rising up (Hebrew: qu'mi קוּמִי): This refers to periods of activity, motion, journeying, or beginning a task. It encompasses public life, endeavors, and all outward actions.
- Words-group: "my sitting down and my rising up" - This merism (a literary device using two contrasting parts to represent a whole) comprehensively covers all human actions, states, and activities. It means "everything I do," "every state of being," from the moment of repose to the act of motion, leaving no part of one's life unknown to God.
- you understand (Hebrew: u-maṣkīl וּמַשְׂכִּיל): From the root sakhal, meaning to be intelligent, to perceive, to discern, to consider deeply. This is not just recognition, but insightful comprehension. It suggests that God doesn't just record observations, but grasps the deeper meaning, context, and intent behind thoughts and actions.
- my thought (Hebrew: l're'i לְרֵעִי): This word can be nuanced. While re'a primarily means 'friend' or 'companion', in this context, coupled with 'afar off', it strongly points to deeply ingrained, formative intentions, plans, or cogitations—the very companions of one's inner being or the raw ideas that germinate in the mind. It signifies profound internal deliberation or one's inmost mental designs.
- afar off (Hebrew: merachok מֵרָחוק): This emphasizes foreknowledge. It indicates that God understands David's thoughts not just as they form or are articulated, but from a distance in time – before they even come into full conscious awareness or before they fully develop. It signifies a profound divine precognition and omniscience, grasping the very genesis and deepest recesses of the human mind.
- Words-group: "you understand my thought afar off" - This phrase underscores God's omniscient knowledge extends to the realm of one's subconscious, unformed intentions, and latent impulses. It indicates that God is privy to the deepest, most embryonic mental processes, demonstrating an incomprehensible level of divine awareness.
Psalm 139 2 Bonus section
The profound implications of Psalm 139:2 extend to theological concepts such as:
- Divine Providence: God's complete knowledge of all actions and thoughts enables Him to guide and oversee all events, aligning with His sovereign will.
- Intercessory Prayer: Understanding that God knows our needs and unspoken requests (Rom 8:26-27) reinforces faith in effective prayer, even when our words fail.
- Conviction and Repentance: The knowledge that God understands our deepest, hidden motives necessitates sincere introspection and true repentance for all sin, even that conceived only in the heart.
- Comfort in Solitude: Even when alone and unobserved by human eyes, this verse reminds us that we are intimately known and perceived by God, bringing comfort against feelings of isolation or insignificance.
- Wisdom's Foundation: This intimate knowledge means God's counsel and wisdom (given His boundless understanding, Ps 147:5) are perfectly tailored and supremely reliable.
Psalm 139 2 Commentary
Psalm 139:2 paints a picture of God as the ultimate knowing Being, whose understanding of humanity is absolute, pervasive, and prior. It assures us that our every movement, every quiet moment, and every nascent thought is utterly transparent to Him. This deep understanding stems not from a detached observation but from an intimate, relational knowledge (yada`) that distinguishes Him from all finite beings or limited deities. The phrase "sitting down and rising up" captures the totality of our existence – from passive repose to active engagement, no aspect is hidden. Moreover, "understanding my thought afar off" elevates God's knowledge beyond mere present awareness to active, deep discernment of our innermost, even unformed, intentions and motives. This can elicit both comfort, knowing we are fully known and cared for by God, and conviction, as it implies accountability for every part of our being. This truth serves as a cornerstone of comfort for those who seek to live uprightly, knowing God sees their heart's desires, and a profound call to humility and repentance for all, recognizing that nothing can be hidden from their Creator.