Psalms 139:7

Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly while reflecting on the limits of human comprehension regarding divine knowledge. This declaration immediately follows the statement that such knowledge is too lofty to attain.

The words — The inquiry centers on אָ֭נָ֥ה ('a.Nah) meaning "where?" and אֶבְרָֽח ('ev.Rach) meaning "will I flee." These terms structure the verse as a rhetorical question about the impossibility of escaping divine presence.

The thread — The motif of fleeing from the LORD appears in Jonah 1:3 and Jonah 1:10, where Jonah's attempt to escape is met with alarm. Jeremiah 23:23 reinforces the scope of this presence by posing a rhetorical question that affirms God is both nearby and far away.

Why it lands — The text asserts that no geographic or existential movement removes a person from divine awareness. It requires the reader to abandon the premise of hiddenness and accept constant exposure.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

אָ֭נָ֥ה'a.Nahwhere?אֵלֵ֣ךְ'e.Lekhwill I go מֵרוּחֶ֑ךָme./ru.Che./khafrom/ spirit/ your וְ֝אָ֗נָהve./'A.nahand/ where?מִפָּנֶ֥יךָmi./pa.Nei./khafrom/ presence/ your אֶבְרָֽח׃'ev.Rachwill I flee

King James Version

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

Cross-references

Jeremiah 23:23 “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away?”
Jonah 1:3 Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.
Jonah 1:10 Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
Acts 5:9 “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”