Psalms 139 · Verse 2

Psalms 139:2

Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
Psalms 139:2, King James Version

Psalms 139:2 in other translations

BSBYou know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.
WEBYou know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar.
ASVThou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; Thou understandest my thought afar off.
YLTThou--Thou hast known my sitting down, And my rising up, Thou hast attended to my thoughts from afar.
DARBYThou knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off;
BBEYou have knowledge when I am seated and when I get up, you see my thoughts from far away.
WebsterThou knowest my down-sitting and my up rising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

What does Psalms 139:2 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 My downsitting and mine uprising - Even these inconsiderable and casual things are under thy continual notice. I cannot so much as take a seat, or leave it, without being marked by thee. Thou understandest my thought - לרעי lerei, "my cogitation." This word is Chaldee, see Dan 2:29, Dan 2:30. Afar off - While the figment is forming that shall produce them.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 139:1-6

God has perfect knowledge of us, and all our thoughts and actions are open before him. It is more profitable to meditate on Divine truths, applying them to our own cases, and with hearts lifted to God in prayer, than with a curious or disputing frame of mind. That God knows all things, is omniscient; that he is every where, is omnipresent; are truths acknowledged by all, yet they are seldom rightly believed in by…

Read the full comment on Psalms 139:1-6 →

Psalms 139:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אַתָּ֣ה'a.TahyouH859
יָ֭דַעְתָּYa.da'.tayou knowH3045
שִׁבְתִּ֣יshiv.Tisitting myH3427
וְקוּמִ֑יve.ku.Miand standing myH6965
בַּ֥נְתָּהBan.tahyou understandH995
לְ֝רֵעִ֗יle.re.'I<to> thought[s] myH7454
מֵרָחֽוֹק\׃me.ra.Chokfrom a distanceH7350

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Psalms 139:2

  • Matthew 9:4

    And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?

  • 2 Kings 19:27

    But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.

  • Isaiah 37:28

    But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.

  • Psalms 94:11

    The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

  • Luke 9:47

    And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him,

  • Proverbs 15:3

    The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

  • John 2:24-25

    But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

  • Psalms 56:8

    Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

  • Zechariah 4:10

    For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

  • 2 Kings 6:12

    And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.

  • Genesis 16:13

    And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

  • 1 Corinthians 4:5

    Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
knowest.
56:8; Ge 16:13; 2Ki 6:12; 19:27; Pr 15:3; Isa 37:28; Zec 4:10
understandest.
94:11; Mt 9:4; Lu 9:47; Joh 2:24,25; 1Co 4:5
afar off.
Eze 38:10,11,17

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Psalms 139:1

    To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.

  • Psalms 139:2

    Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

  • Psalms 139:3

    Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

Read all of Psalms 139

Psalms 139:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Tú has conocido mi sentarme y mi levantarme, has entendido desde lejos mis pensamientos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Tu connais quand je m’assieds et quand je me lève, tu discernes de loin ma pensée;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Du kennst mein Sitzen und mein Aufstehen, du verstehst meine Gedanken von ferne.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Eripe me, Domine, ab homine malo; a viro iniquo eripe me.