Psalms 139:10
in Psalms 139even there Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Even there shall thy hand lead me, And thy right hand shall hold me.
KJV
Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
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This verse in Psalms 139
Commentary
12 notes on this verseIn devout thoughts such as these my soul, engrossed in the pursuit of truth, took its delight. For it seemed that the greatness of God so far surpassed the mental powers of His handiwork, that however far the limited mind of man might strain in the hazardous effort to define Him, the gap was not lessened between the finite nature which struggled and the boundless infinity that lay beyond its ken.
This site's exposition
Where can I go to escape Your Spirit
on Psalms 139:7-10
Four places are tried, the heavens above and Sheol below, the wings of the dawn and the farthest sea. Sheol is the place of the dead, so the first pair runs from the top of creation to the bottom. Each route ends at the right hand that holds him fast.
This site's exposition
even there Your hand will guide
The flight of verses 7 to 9 ends in guidance. The verb for guide, nachah, is used in Psalm 23:3 of the shepherd leading in right paths. The right hand is the hand of strength, and it holds fast.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
Now listen who may bring us there. The very same One whose face in wrath we wish to flee from. For what follows? "Even there shall Your hand conduct me, and Your right hand lead me" [Psalm 139:10]. This let us meditate on, beloved brethren, let this be our hope, this our consolation. Let us take again through love the wings we lost through lust. For lust was the lime of our wings, it clashed us down from the freedom of our sky, that is, the free breezes of the Spirit of God. Thence dashed down we lost our wings, and were, so to speak, imprisoned in the power of the fowler; thence "He" redeemed us with His Blood, whom we fled from to be caught. He makes us wings of His commandments; we raise them aloft now free from lime....Needs then must we have wings, and needs must He conduct us, for He is our Helper. We have free-will; but even with that free-will what can we do, unless He help us who commands us?
For Deity alone is uncircumscribed, existing everywhere, and as the same and in the same manner. For if I ascend, saith David, into heaven, thou art there; if I descend into Hades thou art present there; if I should take to myself wings at morning—that …
Since, therefore, all things are seen and heard, let us fear him and abandon the abominable lusts that spawn evil works, in order that we may be shielded by his mercy from the coming judgments. For where can any of us escape from his mighty hand? For the Scripture says somewhere, "Where shall I go, and where shall I be hidden from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I depart to the ends of the earth, there is your right hand; if I take my bed in the depths, there is your Spirit." Where, then, can one go, or where can one flee from him who embraces the universe?
"I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son." The son set out abroad and fled into a far country; but he did not escape from those accusing witnesses, the eyes of the heavenly Father. David …
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Job says: "I always feared God as though waves were swelling over me." And why? I cannot flee on account of the sublimity of divine power, because "if I ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I descend into hell, thou art present; if I …
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Even there shall thy hand lead me,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Even there shall thy hand lead me. We could only fly from God by his own power. The Lord would be leading, covering, preserving, sustaining us even when we were fugitives from him. And thy right hand shall hold me. In the uttermost parts of the sea my arrest would be as certain as at home: God's right hand would there seize and detain the runaway. Should we be commanded on the most distant errand, we may assuredly depend upon the upholding right hand of God as with us in all mercy, wisdom, and power.
Even there shall thy hand lead me. We could only fly from God by his own power. The Lord would be leading, covering, preserving, sustaining us even when we were fugitives from him. And thy right hand shall hold me. In the uttermost parts of the sea my arrest would be as certain as at home: God's right hand would there seize and detain the runaway. Should we be commanded on the most distant errand, we may assuredly depend upon the upholding right hand of God as with us in all mercy, wisdom, and power. The exploring missionary in his lonely wanderings is led, in his solitary feebleness he is held. Both the hands of God are with his own servants to sustain them, and against rebels to overthrow them; and in this respect it matters not to what realms they resort, the active energy of God is around them still.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Even there shall thy hand lead me - I shall find thee there; thy hand would be upon me; I should not have gone from thy presence. And thy right hand shall hold me - Still hold me; still be laid upon me. I should find myself there, as certainly as here, in thy hand; and in the same sense - either to seize upon me if I went astray, or to protect me, if obedient, supported by thee in all the perils of the flight. God, still the same - the same in all respects - would be with me there as he is here.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גַּם־ | gamosha- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| שָׁ֭ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| יָדְךָ֣ | yadekha | hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| תַנְחֵ֑נִי | tancheni | it will lead me | H5148 → | 39 times |
| וְֽתֹאחֲזֵ֥נִי | vetochazeni | and it will grasp me | H270 → | 67 times |
| יְמִינֶֽךָ׃ | yeminekha | right [hand] your | H3225 → | 140 times |
גַּם־also
gamosha-H1571 →769 times
שָׁ֭םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
יָדְךָ֣hand your
yadekhaH3027 →1618 times
תַנְחֵ֑נִיit will lead me
tancheniH5148 →39 times
וְֽתֹאחֲזֵ֥נִיand it will grasp me
vetochazeniH270 →67 times
יְמִינֶֽךָ׃right [hand] your
yeminekhaH3225 →140 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 41:13For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and tells you: Do not fear, I will help you.
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 73:23
Yet I am always with You; You hold my right hand.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 63:8
My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 41:10
Through
Psalms 23:3He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.
it leads to
- Isaiah 42:16
I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These…
- Psalms 31:3
For You are my rock and my fortress; lead me and guide me for the sake of Your name.
- Psalms 19:7
The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- Psalms 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
- Psalms 143:8–10
Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.
- Isaiah 42:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 139; Bonaventure, Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Clement of Rome, 1 CLEMENT 28; Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 2; Hilary of Poitiers, ON THE TRINITY 1:6; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Peter Chrysologus, SERMON 2.