Psalms 139 · Verse 7

Psalms 139:7

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

Psalms 139:7, King James Version

Psalms 139:7 in other translations

BSB	Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?
WEB	Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?
ASV	Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
YLT	Whither do I go from Thy Spirit? And whither from Thy face do I flee?
DARBY	Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? and whither flee from thy presence?
BBE	Where may I go from your spirit? how may I go in flight from you?
Webster	Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

What does Psalms 139:7 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? - Surely רוח ruach in this sense must be taken personally, it certainly cannot mean either breath or wind; to render it so would make the passage ridiculous. From thy presence? - מפניך mippaneycha, "from thy faces." Why do we meet with this word so frequently in the plural number, when applied to God? And why have we his Spirit, and his appearances or faces, both here? A Trinitarian would at once say, "The plurality of persons in the Godhead is intended;" and who can prove that he is mistaken?

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 139:7-16

We cannot see God, but he can see us. The psalmist did not desire to go from the Lord. Whither can I go? In the most distant corners of the world, in heaven, or in hell, I cannot go out of thy reach. No veil can hide us from God; not the thickest darkness. No disguise can save any person or action from being seen in the true light by him. Secret haunts of sin are as open before God as the most open villanies. On the other hand, the believer cannot be removed from the supporting, comforting presence of his Almighty Friend. Should the persecutor take his life, his soul will the sooner ascend to heaven. The grave cannot separate his body from the love of his Saviour, who will raise it a glorious body. No outward circumstances can separate him from his Lord. While in the path of duty, he may be happy in any situation, by the exercise of faith, hope, and prayer.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Psalms 139:7 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.

אָ֭נָ֥ה'a.Nahwhere?H575

אֵלֵ֣ךְ'e.Lekhwill I goH1980

מֵרוּחֶ֑ךָme.ru.Che.khafrom spirit yourH7307

וְ֝אָ֗נָהve.'A.nahand where?H575

מִפָּנֶ֥יךָmi.pa.Nei.khafrom presence yourH6440

אֶבְרָֽח\׃'ev.Rachwill I fleeH1272

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

Cross references for Psalms 139:7

Jeremiah 23:23-24
Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.
Jonah 1:3
But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
Jonah 1:10
Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Jer 23:23,24; Jon 1:3,10; Ac 5:9

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

Context

Psalms 139:6
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Psalms 139:7
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Psalms 139:8
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

Read all of Psalms 139

Psalms 139:7 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	¿Adónde me iré de tu espíritu? ¿y adónde huiré de tu presencia?
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Où irai-je loin de ton Esprit? et où fuirai-je loin de ta face?
German Elberfelder 1871	Wohin sollte ich gehen vor deinem Geiste, und wohin fliehen vor deinem Angesicht?
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Dixi Domino: Deus meus es tu; exaudi, Domine, vocem deprecationis meæ.