Psalm 139:8 kjv
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
Psalm 139:8 nkjv
If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
Psalm 139:8 niv
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
Psalm 139:8 esv
If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
Psalm 139:8 nlt
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
Psalm 139 8 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jer 23:23-24 | "Am I a God at hand," declares the Lord, "and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the Lord. "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" declares the Lord. | God fills all space; inescapable presence. |
| Amos 9:2-4 | "Though they dig into Sheol, from there My hand shall take them; though they climb to heaven, from there I will bring them down. Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out..." | No escape from God's judgment or power. |
| Pro 15:3 | The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. | God's all-seeing omnipresence and moral governance. |
| Job 11:7-9 | "Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea." | God's incomprehensibility and infinite nature. |
| Ps 139:1-4 | O Lord, You have searched me and known me! You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off... | Context: God's exhaustive knowledge of individuals. |
| Jon 1:3 | But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord... | Futility of escaping God's presence or call. |
| Ps 115:3 | Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases. | God's sovereign abode in the heavens. |
| Isa 57:15 | For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit..." | God's dwelling in highest heaven and with humble hearts. |
| Rev 21:1 | Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. | God's presence encompassing future creation. |
| 1 Kin 8:27 | "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house that I have built!" | God's transcendence; heavens cannot contain Him. |
| Eph 4:8-10 | Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." (In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?) He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens... | Christ's descent into Hades/earth and ascent to heaven, affirming God's presence and power over all realms. |
| Acts 2:27-31 | "For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption... Therefore, being a prophet... he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades..." | Christ's victory over Sheol/Hades through resurrection. |
| Rom 10:6-7 | But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down) or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)." | Demonstrates the impossible task of humans reaching these extremes, but Christ already having traversed them. |
| Ps 6:5 | For in death there is no remembrance of You; In Sheol who will give You thanks? | Sheol as a place of inactivity and no praise to God (from ancient Israelite perspective). |
| Deut 30:4 | If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you... | God's ability to reach and gather His people from any extremity. |
| Gen 1:1 | In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. | God as the Creator of both 'heaven' and 'earth' (including 'Sheol' implicitly as part of creation). |
| Heb 4:13 | And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. | Reinforces God's omniscience, nothing hidden. |
| Ps 88:11 | Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave, Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction? | Sheol (grave/destruction) as a place where God's active work is not perceived. |
| Job 26:6 | Sheol is naked before Him, And Abaddon has no covering. | God sees clearly into Sheol, demonstrating His all-encompassing knowledge. |
| Isa 14:9 | Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come... | Personification of Sheol, indicating its nature as the destination of the dead. |
| Ps 139:7 | Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? | Immediate preceding verse sets the context for rhetorical questions on inescapable presence. |
| Isa 66:1 | Thus says the Lord: "Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool." | God's absolute sovereignty and immense presence over all realms. |
| Zech 4:10 | For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the whole earth. | God's all-seeing vigilance over the entire earth. |
Psalm 139 verses
Psalm 139 8 Meaning
Psalm 139:8 powerfully declares God's omnipresence, stating that no human action or place, no matter how high or low, can ever be beyond His immediate and active presence. Whether one attempts to ascend to the highest heavens or descend to the deepest parts of Sheol, God is definitively there, emphasizing His limitless knowledge, reach, and sovereign control over all creation and existence. It signifies the absolute futility of attempting to escape or hide from the Almighty Creator.
Psalm 139 8 Context
Psalm 139 is a profound reflection on God's omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. The chapter opens with the psalmist (David) expressing awe at God's exhaustive knowledge of him, knowing his thoughts, words before they are spoken, and paths. Verse 8 naturally extends this understanding of God's intimate knowledge to His spatial omnipresence. It is part of a larger section (verses 7-12) that uses rhetorical questions and hypothetical scenarios to emphasize the utter impossibility of escaping God's Spirit or presence, whether one attempts to ascend to the highest heavens, descend to the deepest underworld (Sheol), take the wings of the morning to the farthest sea, or even attempt to hide in the darkness. The historical and cultural context for the original audience, particularly within ancient Near Eastern thought, is that many deities were localized or had specific domains. The psalm's declaration of God's presence in 'heaven' and 'Sheol' is a polemic against such limited views of divinity, asserting that the God of Israel transcends all perceived boundaries and spheres of influence, extending even to the feared and mysterious underworld, traditionally considered a realm beyond divine active reach in some cultures.
Psalm 139 8 Word analysis
- If: The Hebrew "אִם" ('im) introduces a conditional or hypothetical scenario. It sets up an impossible premise to emphasize an undeniable truth: no matter the attempt, the outcome (God's presence) remains constant. It underscores the futility of escaping.
- I ascend: The Hebrew verb "אֶסַּק" ('essaq) signifies active upward movement. It means to go up, climb, or ascend, specifically aiming for the highest conceivable point, "heaven." It evokes images of desperate attempts to flee vertically.
- heaven: The Hebrew "שָׁמַיִם" (shamayim) refers to the sky, the firmament, and often the abode of God. In ancient cosmology, it was considered the highest realm, a place of divine dwelling and power. This contrasts with many ancient Near Eastern myths where deities were confined to certain terrestrial regions or heavens. Here, it denotes the absolute highest extreme of existence.
- You are there: The Hebrew "שָׁם אָתָּה" (sham 'atta) directly states God's presence. "You are there" signifies not just awareness or observation, but actual, immediate, active presence. It emphasizes that no height can exclude God.
- if I make my bed: The Hebrew phrase "אֶצִּיעָה שְּׁאוֹל" ('atzzi'ah sh'ol) literally means "I spread out [my couch] in Sheol." This is a poetic and powerful image. "Making one's bed" or "spreading out one's couch" denotes settling down, residing, or even dying and being buried in that place. It implies an ultimate and desperate descent to the lowest conceivable realm.
- Sheol: The Hebrew "שְׁאוֹל" (she'ol) is the general Old Testament term for the grave or the underworld, the abode of the dead. It is often depicted as a dark, deep, inescapable place below the earth, a realm of shadows and inactivity. Unlike concepts of a "hell" as a place of eternal conscious torment (which develops later), Sheol was understood more as a universal destination for all the dead, irrespective of moral standing, where they simply "exist" as shades. This verse asserts God's presence even in this mysterious and seemingly unreachable realm of death. It acts as a polemic against beliefs that death or the underworld could remove one from divine purview.
- behold, You are there: The repetition of "You are there" coupled with the interjection "וְהִנֵּה" (v'hinei), meaning "behold" or "lo," intensifies the declaration. It calls attention to this surprising and profound truth: even in the ultimate depths, God's presence is unwavering and immediate. It reinforces the completeness and pervasiveness of His omnipresence.
- If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there: This phrase constructs a rhetorical "polar extreme" argument. It covers the entirety of known existence, from the absolute highest to the absolute lowest. By asserting God's presence in both extremes, it implicitly declares His presence everywhere in between. This demonstrates God's sovereignty over all creation, life, and death. It communicates that no dimension or condition of being is outside of God's dominion and intimate knowledge, dispelling any notion of boundaries to His presence or any hiding place from Him. This comprehensive presence can be a source of great comfort for the believer in their lowest points or a powerful conviction for one attempting to escape His authority.
Psalm 139 8 Bonus section
This verse, in conjunction with the broader Psalm 139, speaks to the three "omni" attributes of God:
- Omnipresence: He is everywhere at once, in every possible dimension or location. This is the direct theme of verse 8.
- Omniscience: He knows all things, including the psalmist's innermost thoughts (verse 2) and plans (verse 4). His presence in Sheol implies a knowledge even of death's mysteries.
- Omnipotence: His ability to be in these seemingly opposite and unapproachable realms ("heaven" and "Sheol") speaks to His ultimate power and control over all creation.
In ancient Near Eastern understanding, Sheol was often seen as a place of no return or beyond the active intervention of the gods. The God of Israel, however, demonstrates His dominion over this realm, asserting His unparalleled power and scope compared to other deities. This prefigures the New Testament revelation of Christ's descent into Hades/Sheol and His victory over death, confirming God's ultimate authority even over the power of the grave. The absolute lack of refuge from God's presence emphasizes both His inescapable holiness and His steadfast care.
Psalm 139 8 Commentary
Psalm 139:8 is a profound declaration of God's omnipresence, highlighting that no space or state of being can exist apart from His immediate and active presence. The psalmist, through two powerful hypothetical extremes—ascending to the highest heaven and descending to the deepest underworld (Sheol)—illustrates the utter futility of escaping or hiding from God. This means God's presence is not merely a distant observation but an intimate, personal, and ever-present reality, whether one is in triumph (heaven) or in despair and death (Sheol). It offers both comfort to those who feel utterly lost and exposed (for God is there even in the gravest depths) and a solemn warning to those who might foolishly attempt to evade divine scrutiny. The verse underlines that the Creator of all realms is master of all realms, and His dominion is absolute, transcending any physical or conceptual boundaries, including life and death.For example, for a person grappling with grief, knowing God is present even in the "Sheol" of sorrow brings solace. For someone tempted to secret sin, this verse reminds them no deed is hidden from Him.