Psalms 139:15
in Psalms 139My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
My frame was not hidden from thee, When I was made in secret, And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
KJV
My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
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This verse in Psalms 139
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Hippolytus of RomeFragments from Commentaries on Various Books of Scripture - On the Words in Psalm CXXXIX. 15 · Written before 235.
It is said also by those who treat of the nature and generation of animals, that the change of the blood into bone is something invisible and intangible, although in the case of other parts, I mean the flesh and nerves, the mode of their formation may be seen. And the Scripture also, in Ecclesiastes, adduces this, saying, As you know not the bones in the womb of her that is with child, so you shall not know the works of God.
This site's exposition
when I was made in secret
on Psalms 139:15-16
Verse 15 puts the making in secret, and the word for the unformed body is golem, a wrapped and unformed mass, the embryo. What the book holds is days, all of them written and ordained before any of them began. The eyes that saw that mass had the days already.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"My bone is not hid from You, which You have made in secret" [Psalm 139:15]. "His bone," he says. What the people call ossum, is in Latin called os. This is the word in the Greek. For we might think the word os is here the one which makes in the plural ora, not os (short), which makes ossa. He says then, I have a certain bone (ossum) in secret. For this word let us prefer to use; better is it that scholars find fault with us, than that the people understand us not. "There is then," says he, a certain bone of mine, within, hidden; You have made within a bone for me in secret, yet is it not hidden from You. In secret have You made it, but have You therefore hidden it from Yourself? This my bone made by You in secret men see not, men know not: You know, who hast made. What "bone" then means he, brethren? Let us seek it, it is "in secret." But because as Christians we are speaking in the Name of the Lord to Christians, now we find what bone is of this kind. It is a sort of inward strength; for strength and fortitude are understood to be in the bones. There is then a sort of inward strength of the soul, wherein it is not broken. Whatever tortures, whatever tribulations, whatever adversities rage around, that which God has made strong in secret in us, cannot be broken, yields not. For by God is made a certain strength of patience, of which is said in another Psalm, "But my soul shall be subjected to God, for of Him is my patience.". ..Wherein do you glory? "In tribulations, knowing that tribulation works patience." [Romans 4:5] See how that strength is fashioned within in his heart: "because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." So is fashioned and made strong that hidden bone, that it makes us even to glory in tribulations. But to men we seem wretched, because that which we have within is hidden from them. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But it was God himself that thus covered us, and therefore he can, when he pleases, discover us; when he hid us from all the world he did not intend to hide us from himself. Concerning the formation of man, of each of us, 1. The glory of it is here given to God, entirely to him; for it is he that has made us and not we ourselves.
My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
My substance was not hid from thee. The substantial part of my being was before thine all seeing eye; the bones which make my frame were put together by thine hand. The essential materials of my being before they were arranged were all within the range of thine eye. I was hidden from all human knowledge, but not from thee: thou hast ever been intimately acquainted with me. When I was made in secret. Most chastely and beautifully is here described the formation of our being before the time of our birth.
My substance was not hid from thee. The substantial part of my being was before thine all seeing eye; the bones which make my frame were put together by thine hand. The essential materials of my being before they were arranged were all within the range of thine eye. I was hidden from all human knowledge, but not from thee: thou hast ever been intimately acquainted with me. When I was made in secret. Most chastely and beautifully is here described the formation of our being before the time of our birth. A great artist will often labour alone in his studio, and not suffer his work to be seen until it is finished; even so did the Lord fashion us where no eye beheld as, and the veil was not lifted till every member was complete. Much of the formation of our inner man still proceeds in secret: hence the more of solitude the better for us. The true church also is being fashioned in secret, so that none may cry, "Lo, here!" or "Lo, there!" as if that which is visible could ever be identical with the invisibly growing body of Christ. And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. "Embroidered with great skill", is an accurate poetical description of the creation of veins, sinews, muscles, nerves, etc. What tapestry can equal the human fabric? This work is wrought as much in private as if it had been accomplished in the grave, or in the darkness of the abyss. The expressions are poetical, beautifully veiling, though not absolutely concealing, the real meaning. God's intimate knowledge of us from our beginning, and even before it, is here most charmingly set forth. Cannot he who made us thus wondrously when we were not, still carry on his work of power till he has perfected us, though we feel unable to aid in the process, and are lying in great sorrow and self loathing, as though cast into the lowest parts of the earth?
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
My substance was not hid from thee - עצמי atsmi, my bones or skeleton. Curiously wrought - רקמתי rukkamti, embroidered, made of needlework. These two words, says Bishop Horsley, describe the two principal parts of which the human body is composed; the bony skeleton, the foundation of the whole; and the external covering of muscular flesh, tendons, veins, arteries, nerves, and skin; a curious web of fibres. On this passage Bishop Lowth has some excellent observations: “In that most perfect hymn, where the immensity of the omnipresent Deity, and the admirable wisdom of the Divine Artificer in framing the human body, are celebrated, the poet uses a remarkable metaphor, drawn from the nicest tapestry work: - When I was formed in secret; When I was wrought, as with a needle, in the lowest parts of the earth. “He who remarks this, (but the man who consults Versions only will hardly remark it), and at the same time reflects upon the wonderful composition of the human body, the various implication of veins, arteries, fibres, membranes, and the ‘inexplicable texture’ of the whole frame; will immediately understand the beauty and elegance of this most apt translation. But he will not attain the whole force and dignity, unless he also considers that the most artful embroidery with the needle was dedicated by the Hebrews to the service of the sanctuary; and that the proper and singular use of their work was, by the immediate prescript of the Divine law, applied in a certain part of the high priest’s dress, and in the curtains of the tabernacle, Exo 28:39; Exo 26:36; Exo 27:16; and compare Eze 16:10; Eze 13:18. […]
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
My substance was not hid from thee - Thou didst see it; thou didst understand it altogether, when it was hidden from the eyes of man. The word “substance” is rendered in the margin, “strength” or “body.” The Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, the Syriac, the Arabic, and Luther render it, “my bone,” or “my bones.” The word properly means strength, and then anything strong. Another form of the word, with different pointing in the Hebrew, means a bone, so called from its strength. The allusion here is to the bodily frame, considered as strong, or as that which has strength. Whatever there was that entered into and constituted the vigor of his frame, the psalmist says, was seen and known by God, even in its commencement, and when most feeble. Its capability to become strong - feeble as it then was - could not even at that time be concealed or hidden from the view of God. When I was made in secret - In the womb; or, hidden from the eye of man. Even then thine eye saw me, and saw the wondrous process by which my members were formed. And curiously wrought. - Literally, “embroidered.” The Hebrew word - רקם râqam - means to deck with color, to variegate. Hence, it means to variegate a garment; to weave with threads of various colors. With us the idea of embroidering is that of working various colors on a cloth by a needle. The Hebrew word, however, properly refers to the act of “weaving in” various threads - as now in weaving carpets. The reference here is to the various and complicated tissues of the human frame - the tendons, nerves, veins, arteries, muscles, “as if” they had been woven, or as they appear to be curiously interweaved. […]
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִכְחַ֥ד | nikhchad | it was hidden | H3582 → | 32 times |
| עָצְמִ֗י | ʾatzemi | bone[s] my | H6108 → | |
| מִ֫מֶּ֥ךָּ | mimeka | from you | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עֻשֵּׂ֥יתִי | ʾuseiti | I was made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בַסֵּ֑תֶר | vaseter | in the secret place | H5643 → | 36 times |
| רֻ֝קַּ֗מְתִּי | rukamti | I was formed | H7551 → | |
| בְּֽתַחְתִּיּ֥וֹת | betachtiyot | in [the] lower parts of | H8482 → | 19 times |
| אָֽרֶץ׃ | ʾaretz | [the] earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
נִכְחַ֥דit was hidden
nikhchadH3582 →32 times
עָצְמִ֗יbone[s] my
ʾatzemiH6108 →
מִ֫מֶּ֥ךָּfrom you
mimekaH4480 →1188 times
אֲשֶׁר־who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
עֻשֵּׂ֥יתִיI was made
ʾuseitiH6213 →2628 times
בַסֵּ֑תֶרin the secret place
vaseterH5643 →36 times
רֻ֝קַּ֗מְתִּיI was formed
rukamtiH7551 →
בְּֽתַחְתִּיּ֥וֹתin [the] lower parts of
betachtiyotH8482 →19 times
אָֽרֶץ׃[the] earth
ʾaretzH776 →2504 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
Psalms 139:13For You formed my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
- Psalms 119:73
Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding to learn Your commandments.
- Isaiah 44:2
This is the word of the LORD, your Maker, who formed you from the womb and who will help you: “Do not be afraid, O Jacob My servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
- Job 31:15
Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb?
- Job 10:9–12
Please remember that You molded me like clay. Would You now return me to dust?
- Jeremiah 1:5
Through
Ecclesiastes 11:5As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.
it leads to
- John 3:8
The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
- Psalms 92:5
How great are Your works, O LORD, how deep are Your thoughts!
- John 3:8
Through
Ephesians 4:9What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended to the lower parts of the earth?
it leads to
- John 3:13
No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.
- John 3:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Hippolytus of Rome, Fragments from Commentaries on Various Books of Scripture - On the Words in Psalm CXXXIX. 15; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.