Psalms 139:8

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there.

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

אִם־אֶסַּ֣ק שָׁ֭מַיִם שָׁ֣ם אָ֑תָּה וְאַצִּ֖יעָה שְּׁא֣וֹל הִנֶּֽךָּ׃

Transliteration

If-ʾessaq šāmayim there ʾāttâ; and-ʾaṣṣîʿâ šəʾôl hinnekā

Grammar Details

*ʾessaq*: verb, Qal imperfect 1st person singular - I ascend
*šāmayim*: noun, masculine dual - heavens/sky
*ʾāttâ*: independent personal pronoun, 2nd person masculine singular - you
*ʾaṣṣîʿâ*: verb, Hiphil imperfect 1st person singular cohortative - I make my bed
*šəʾôl*: noun, proper name - Sheol/underworld
*hinnekā*: demonstrative particle + 2nd person masculine singular suffix - behold you/there you are

Word Meanings

*ʾessaq*: ascend/go up/climb
*šāmayim*: heavens/sky
*ʾaṣṣîʿâ*: make my bed/spread out my couch/lie down
*šəʾôl*: Sheol/grave/underworld/place of the dead
*hinnekā*: behold you/there you are/you are present

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Job 26:6 : 6 Sheol is naked before [God], And Abaddon hath no covering.
Prov 15:11 : 11 Sheol and Abaddon are before Jehovah: How much more then the hearts of the children of men!
Amos 9:2-4 : 2 Though they dig into Sheol, thence shall my hand take them; and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down. 3 And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and it shall bite them. 4 And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.
Jonah 2:2 : 2 And he said, I called by reason of mine affliction unto Jehovah, And he answered me; Out of the belly of Sheol cried I, [And] thou heardest my voice.
Obad 1:4 : 4 Though thou mount on high as the eagle, and though thy nest be set among the stars, I will bring thee down from thence, saith Jehovah.
Ezek 28:12-17 : 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say unto him, Thus says the Lord Jehovah: You sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, the sardius, the topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of your tabrets and of your pipes was in you; in the day that you were created they were prepared. 14 You were the anointed cherub that covers: and I set you, [so that] you were upon the holy mountain of God; you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you. 16 By the abundance of your traffic they filled the midst of you with violence, and you have sinned: therefore have I cast you as profane out of the mountain of God; and I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness: I have cast you to the ground; I have laid you before kings, that they may behold you.
Job 34:21-22 : 21 For his eyes are upon the ways of a man, And he seeth all his goings. 22 There is no darkness, nor thick gloom, Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Ps 139:9-15
7 verses
85%
9If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10Even there shall thy hand lead me, And thy right hand shall hold me.
11If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me, And the light about me shall be night;
12Even the darkness hideth not from thee, But the night shineth as the day: The darkness and the light are both alike [to thee].
13For thou didst form my inward parts: Thou didst cover me in my mother's womb.
14I will give thanks unto thee; For I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Wonderful are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well.
15My frame was not hidden from thee, When I was made in secret, [And] curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Ps 139:1-7
7 verses
85%
1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. O Jehovah, thou hast searched me, and known [me].
2Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; Thou understandest my thought afar off.
3Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, And art acquainted with all my ways.
4For there is not a word in my tongue, But, lo, O Jehovah, thou knowest it altogether.
5Thou hast beset me behind and before, And laid thy hand upon me.
6[ Such] knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Ps 139:17-18
2 verses
76%
17How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
18If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: When I awake, I am still with thee.
Job 11:8
74%
8It is high as heaven; what canst thou do? Deeper than Sheol; What canst thou know?
Amos 9:2
74%
2Though they dig into Sheol, thence shall my hand take them; and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down.
Ps 130:3
74%
3If thou, Jehovah, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
Job 17:13
73%
13If I look for Sheol as my house; If I have spread my couch in the darkness;
Ps 73:23-25
3 verses
73%
23Nevertheless I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden my right hand.
24Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.
25Whom have I in heaven [but thee]? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.
Ps 88:6
73%
6Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, In dark places, in the deeps.
Ps 139:23-24
2 verses
73%
23Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts;
24And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
Jonah 2:6
73%
6I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; The earth with its bars [closed] upon me for ever: Yet hast thou brought up my life from the pit, O Jehovah my God.
Ps 23:4
72%
4Yea, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Isa 14:15
72%
15Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.
Ps 30:3
72%
3O Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
Job 14:13
72%
13Oh that thou wouldest hide me in Sheol, That thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, That thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
Jer 23:24
72%
24Can any hide himself in secret places so that I shall not see him? saith Jehovah. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith Jehovah.
Ps 116:3
71%
3The cords of death compassed me, And the pains of Sheol gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
2 Sam 22:6
71%
6The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came upon me.
Ps 18:5
71%
5The cords of Sheol were round about me; The snares of death came upon me.
Job 38:16
71%
16Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?
Ps 16:10
71%
10For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption.
Job 22:12
71%
12Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the height of the stars, how high they are!
Ps 71:20
71%
20Thou, who hast showed us many and sore troubles, Wilt quicken us again, And wilt bring us up again from the depths of the earth.
Job 14:16
71%
16But now thou numberest my steps: Dost thou not watch over my sin?
Job 38:4
71%
4Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.
Ps 91:9
71%
9For thou, O Jehovah, art my refuge! Thou hast made the Most High thy habitation;
Job 7:13
70%
13When I say, My bed shall comfort me, My couch shall ease my complaint;
Ps 88:11
70%
11Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or thy faithfulness in Destruction?
Isa 14:9
70%
9Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
Ps 142:3
70%
3When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, Thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walk Have they hidden a snare for me.
Ps 89:11
70%
11The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: The world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.
Jonah 2:3-4
2 verses
70%
3For thou didst cast me into the depth, in the heart of the seas, And the flood was round about me; All thy waves and thy billows passed over me.
4And I said, I am cast out from before thine eyes; Yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
Ps 86:13
70%
13For great is thy lovingkindness toward me; And thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol.