Psalms 139:5 (WEB)

Passage

You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me.

Nearby Context

Psalms 139:3 You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.

Psalms 139:4 For there is not a word on my tongue, but, behold, Yahweh, you know it altogether.

Psalms 139:5 You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me.

Psalms 139:6 This knowledge is beyond me. It’s lofty. I can’t attain it.

Psalms 139:7 Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "behind", "before", "laid", and "hand". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "behind" and "before", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "For there is not a word on..." into verse 6's "This knowledge is beyond me It s...", so "behind" and "before" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "behind" and "before" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.