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Psalm 139:6
This knowledge is beyond me. It’s lofty. I can’t attain it.
4For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, LORD, you know it altogether.
5You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me.
6This knowledge is beyond me. It’s lofty. I can’t attain it.
7Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?
8If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there!
Notice
Knowledge beyond reach can leave you humbled: the God who knows your words before you speak has an understanding you cannot match.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What feels beyond your grasp about God knowing a word before it reaches your tongue?
Write on thisHow does the word “lofty” shape your response to the limits of your own understanding?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Romans 11:33Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!Both passages express wonder at God's knowledge, which reaches beyond what a human mind can trace or attain.
Psalm 40:5Many, LORD, my God, are the wonderful works which you have done, and your thoughts which are toward us. They can’t be declared back to you. If I would declare …Both describe human limits before God: his knowledge cannot be attained, and his works and thoughts cannot be counted.
Psalm 131:1A Song of Ascents. By David. LORD, my heart isn’t arrogant, nor my eyes lofty; nor do I concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me.Both acknowledge matters beyond human reach, with Psalm 131 expressing a refusal to concern oneself with things too wonderful.
Isaiah 40:28Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is …Both speak of God's understanding as beyond human reach, described in Isaiah as unsearchable.
Psalm 145:3Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised! His greatness is unsearchable.Both describe something about God that exceeds human comprehension: his knowledge in Psalm 139 and his greatness in Psalm 145.
Job 42:3You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ therefore I have uttered that which I didn’t understand, things too wonderful for me, which I …Both speakers acknowledge knowledge beyond their grasp; Job also admits having spoken about things he did not understand.
1 Corinthians 13:9For we know in part and we prophesy in part;Both acknowledge limits to human knowledge, though Corinthians speaks of knowing in part rather than God's knowledge of a person.
Job 26:14Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways. How small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”Both describe the gap between what humans can comprehend and what belongs to God, whether knowledge or power.
Job 11:7–9“Can you fathom the mystery of God? Or can you probe the limits of the Almighty?Both address the inability to fathom God, one through an admission and the other through questions.
Psalm 19:12Who can discern his errors? Forgive me from hidden errors.Both acknowledge limits of human understanding, though Psalm 19 concerns hidden errors rather than the height of God's knowledge.
Proverbs 30:2–4“Surely I am the most ignorant man, and don’t have a man’s understanding.Both speakers admit a lack of understanding, though Proverbs expresses self-abasement rather than wonder at God's knowledge.
Ecclesiastes 7:24That which is, is far off and exceedingly deep. Who can find it out?Both portray knowledge as beyond reach, using height in the psalm and distance and depth in Ecclesiastes.
Where this verse fits
Praise and worship. doubt. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Your understanding has limits, and this psalm lets you admit them before God. His knowledge of you exceeds your ability to understand how he knows.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 139:6. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).