The Meaning of Psalms 139:2 Explained

Psalms 139:2

KJV: Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

YLT: Thou -- Thou hast known my sitting down, And my rising up, Thou hast attended to my thoughts from afar.

Darby: Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off;

ASV: Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; Thou understandest my thought afar off.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thou knowest  my downsitting  and mine uprising,  thou understandest  my thought  afar off. 

What does Psalms 139:2 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 139:1-13 - The All-Seeing God
The psalmist speaks as if there were only two beings in the universe-God and himself. In all literature there is no nobler conception of the divine attributes.
God's omniscience, Psalms 139:1-6. The downsittings of life are times of weariness, depression, failure, shortcoming, and inconsistency, when we are far short of our best. Our uprisings are our strongest, happiest, holiest moments, when we are at our best. God knows all. He cannot be surprised. He besets us before-the future is full of Him-and behind, as the wave follows closely in the wake of the bather or the rear guard the march. His hand is laid upon us, shielding and protecting. His winnowing-fan is ever detecting every grain of wheat and extracting it from the chaff.
God's omnipresence, Psalms 139:7-12. It is impossible to flee from God. However thick the foliage, it cannot separate the sinner from those eyes of love and fire. This thought is terrible to those who are not at peace with Him, but delightful to those who love. Be of good cheer, lonely one; thy night of sorrow is as the day-full of Him. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 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

What do the individual words in Psalms 139:2 mean?

You know my sitting down and my rising up You understand my thought afar off
אַתָּ֣ה יָ֭דַעְתָּ שִׁבְתִּ֣י וְקוּמִ֑י בַּ֥נְתָּה לְ֝רֵעִ֗י מֵרָחֽוֹק

יָ֭דַעְתָּ  know 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
שִׁבְתִּ֣י  my  sitting  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, first person common singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
וְקוּמִ֑י  and  my  rising  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, first person common singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
בַּ֥נְתָּה  You  understand 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: בִּין  
Sense: to discern, understand, consider.
לְ֝רֵעִ֗י  my  thought 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: רֵעַ  
Sense: purpose, aim, thought.
מֵרָחֽוֹק  afar  off 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רָחֹוק  
Sense: remote, far, distant, distant lands, distant ones.