You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.
Parallel translations
- WEB You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me.
- KJV Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
- BSB You hem me in behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me.
- NASB You have encircled me behind and in front, And placed Your hand upon me.
- NLT You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God surrounds David on every side and lays His hand upon him.
Overview
David pictures God encompassing him behind and before, with His hand resting upon him. This enclosing presence is both protective and inescapable. For the believer it is profound comfort, for the same hand that hems us in is the hand that holds us securely in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ps 34:7Yahweh’s angel encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.
- Deut 33:27The eternal God is your dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrust out the enemy from before you, and said, ‘Destroy!’
- Rev 1:17When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,
- Job 23:8–9“If I go east, he is not there; if west, I can’t find him;
- Exod 24:11He didn’t lay his hand on the nobles of the children of Israel. They saw God, and ate and drank.
- Job 9:33There is no umpire between us, that might lay his hand on us both.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 139:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.