Psalm 139:13
New International Version
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

New Living Translation
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

English Standard Version
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

Berean Standard Bible
For You formed my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

King James Bible
For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

New King James Version
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.

New American Standard Bible
For You created my innermost parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.

NASB 1995
For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.

NASB 1977
For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb.

Legacy Standard Bible
For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.

Amplified Bible
For You formed my innermost parts; You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb.

Christian Standard Bible
For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

American Standard Version
For thou didst form my inward parts: Thou didst cover me in my mother's womb.

Contemporary English Version
You are the one who put me together inside my mother's body,

English Revised Version
For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You alone created my inner being. You knitted me together inside my mother.

Good News Translation
You created every part of me; you put me together in my mother's womb.

International Standard Version
It was you who formed my internal organs, fashioning me within my mother's womb.

Majority Standard Bible
For You formed my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

NET Bible
Certainly you made my mind and heart; you wove me together in my mother's womb.

New Heart English Bible
For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb.

Webster's Bible Translation
For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

World English Bible
For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
For You have possessed my reins, "" You cover me in my mother’s belly.

Young's Literal Translation
For Thou -- Thou hast possessed my reins, Thou dost cover me in my mother's belly.

Smith's Literal Translation
For thou didst possess my reins: thou wilt cover me in my mother's womb.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast protected me from my mother's womb.

Catholic Public Domain Version
For you have possessed my temperament. You have supported me from the womb of my mother.

New American Bible
You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb.

New Revised Standard Version
For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
For thou hast made my heart; thou hast accepted me from my mother's womb.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Because you have prepared my kidneys and you have carried me from the womb of my mother.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
For Thou hast made my reins; Thou hast knit me together in my mother's womb.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For thou, O Lord, hast possessed my reins; thou hast helped me from my mother's womb.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
You Have Searched Me and Known Me
12even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You. 13For You formed my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well.…

Cross References
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.”

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?

Isaiah 44:24
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by Myself spread out the earth,

Job 10:8-12
Your hands shaped me and altogether formed me. Would You now turn and destroy me? / Please remember that You molded me like clay. Would You now return me to dust? / Did You not pour me out like milk, and curdle me like cheese? ...

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Ecclesiastes 11:5
As 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.

Isaiah 49:1
Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.

Luke 1:41-44
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. / In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! / And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ...

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.

Genesis 2:7
Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.

Isaiah 64:8
But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.

Job 33:4
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Acts 17:28
‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’

1 Corinthians 12:18
But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design.

Colossians 1:16
For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.


Treasury of Scripture

For you have possessed my reins: you have covered me in my mother's womb.

for thou

Job 10:9-12
Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again? …

covered me

Psalm 22:9,10
But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts…

Psalm 71:6
By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.

Job 31:15
Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?

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Psalm 139
1. David praises God for his all-seeing providence
17. And for this infinite mercies
19. He defies the wicked
23. He prays for sincerity














For You formed
The Hebrew word for "formed" is "קָנָה" (qanah), which conveys the idea of acquiring or creating. This word emphasizes God's active role as the Creator, not just of the universe, but of each individual life. In a conservative Christian perspective, this underscores the belief in God's intimate involvement in the creation of every person, affirming the sanctity and intentionality of human life from its very inception.

my inmost being
The phrase "inmost being" is translated from the Hebrew "כִּלְיָה" (kilyah), which literally refers to the kidneys, often considered the seat of emotion and affection in ancient Hebrew thought. This highlights the depth of God's creative work, reaching into the very core of our emotional and spiritual existence. It suggests that God is not only concerned with our physical form but also with our inner life, shaping our personality and character.

You knit me together
The imagery of "knit me together" comes from the Hebrew "סָכַךְ" (sakhakh), which means to weave or to cover. This metaphor of knitting or weaving suggests a careful, deliberate process, akin to an artisan crafting a masterpiece. It reflects the intricate and purposeful design God employs in forming each person, emphasizing the uniqueness and value of every individual. This imagery also conveys a sense of protection and care, as God envelops us in His creative work.

in my mother’s womb
The "mother’s womb" is a sacred space in this context, representing the beginning of life and the mystery of God's creative power. The Hebrew word "בֶּטֶן" (beten) for "womb" signifies the hidden, nurturing environment where life is formed. This phrase affirms the belief that life begins at conception and that God is actively involved in the development of life from the earliest stages. It serves as a powerful reminder of the divine origin and purpose of every human being, reinforcing the conservative Christian view of the sanctity of life.

(13) For . . .--The mystery of birth regarded as one of the greatest mysteries (see Ecclesiastes 11:5), is a proof of God's omniscience.

Possessed.--The context seems to require formed, fashioned, as, according to Gesenius, in Deuteronomy 32:6, (Authorised Version "bought") (Comp. Genesis 14:19, where maker should be read for possessor.)

For "reins" see Psalm 16:7.

Covered me.--Most critics render here didst weave me. (Comp. Job 10:11.) But the usual sense of the word cover or protect, suits equally well. The prime thought is that every birth is a divine creation. . . .

Verse 13. - For thou hast possessed my reins. Thou knowest me and seest me always, because thou madest me. Thy omniscience and thy omnipresence both rest upon thine omnipotence. Thou hast covered me (rather, woven me) in my mother's womb (comp. Job 10:11).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

You
אַ֭תָּה (’at·tāh)
Pronoun - second person masculine singular
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

formed
קָנִ֣יתָ (qā·nî·ṯā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 7069: To erect, create, to procure, by purchase, to own

my inmost being;
כִלְיֹתָ֑י (ḵil·yō·ṯāy)
Noun - feminine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 3629: A kidney, the mind

You knit me together
תְּ֝סֻכֵּ֗נִי (tə·suk·kê·nî)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular | first person common singular
Strong's 5526: To entwine as a, screen, to fence in, cover over, protect

in my mother’s
אִמִּֽי׃ (’im·mî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 517: A mother, )

womb.
בְּבֶ֣טֶן (bə·ḇe·ṭen)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 990: The belly, the womb, the bosom, body of anything


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OT Poetry: Psalm 139:13 For you formed my inmost being (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 139:12
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