Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Parallel translations
- WEB Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?
- BSB Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?
- NKJV Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
- NASB ¶Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
- NLT I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!
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
David asks where he could possibly go to escape God's Spirit and presence.
Overview
This rhetorical question introduces the theme of God's omnipresence, that there is nowhere beyond His reach. For the rebellious this is sobering, but for the faithful it is comforting. The abiding presence of God's Spirit is given to believers through Christ, who promised never to leave or forsake His own.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Jer 23:23–24Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?
- Jonah 1:3But 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 1:10Then 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.
- Acts 5:9Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 139:7 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.