Psalms 139:6 · Bible study
Psalms 139:6 Commentary: Knowledge Beyond Our Reach
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
David stands in awe of God's total knowledge of him.
Research Summary
- Meaning: David confesses that God's knowledge of him is too wonderful and exalted for his mind to grasp.
- Key words: Da'at (knowledge, perception), pil'iyah (incomprehensible, extraordinary), nisgevah (set on high, inaccessible, like a fortress).
- Main debate: Whether David refers specifically to God's knowledge of his own person or to the general attribute of divine omniscience.
- Theological theme: The transcendence of God's knowledge, it is both intimate and unattainable, both personal and infinite.
- Best use: As a response of worship after contemplating any of God's attributes, a place to stop and marvel rather than explain.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
WEB World English Bible 2000
This knowledge is beyond me. It’s lofty. I can’t attain it.
KJV King James Version 1769
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Suchknowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain unto it.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Knowledge too wonderful for me, It hath been set on high, I am not able for it.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
O knowledge too wonderful for me! it is high, I cannot [attain] unto it.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
The proud have hidden a net for me. And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumblingblock by the wayside.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Más maravillosa es la ciencia que mi capacidad; alta es, no puedo comprenderla.
Teu conhecimento é maravilhoso demais para mim, tão alto que não posso alcançá -lo.
Une science aussi merveilleuse est au-dessus de ma portée,
Solche Erkenntnis ist mir zu wunderbar und zu hoch; ich kann sie nicht begreifen.
De kennis is mij te wonderbaar, zij is hoog, ik kan er niet bij.
Una tal conoscenza è troppo maravigliosa per me, tanto alta, che io non posso arrivarci.
Dziwniejsza umiejętność twoja nad dowcip mój; wysoka jest, nie mogę jej pojąć.
Гордые скрыли силки для меня и петли, раскинули сеть по дороге, тенета разложили для меня.
這樣的知識 奇妙，是我不能測的，至高，是我不 能及的。
Such knowledge is a wonder greater than my powers; it is so high that I may not come near it.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 139:6
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
From Adam Clarke to Matthew Henry, commentators agree this verse is David's reverent response to the truth he has just described in verses 1, 5, that God knows him completely. The Hebrew phrase peli haddaath (if we follow Clarke's plausible emendation) means 'this knowledge,' referring directly back to God's comprehensive knowledge of every thought, word, and action. Barnes calls it 'wonderful knowledge away from me', beyond his grasp. Gill notes that David is not doubting that God knows, but marveling at how God knows: the mode of divine knowledge is impenetrable to human minds. The Cambridge Bible describes the verse as 'a concluding exclamation of reverent awe.' All the supplied sources join in seeing this as praise, not confusion, a joyful surrender before a truth too vast for any human mind to contain.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: God's knowledge of human beings — particularly of David — is beyond human ability to fully comprehend, and the proper response is reverent wonder.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The referent of 'this knowledge' | All traditions agree that the verse refers to God's knowledge of human beings, especially as described in the preceding verses. | Gill and others argue that David is primarily referring to God's knowledge of himself personally; others (Barnes, Calvin) see it as a more general statement about God's omniscience. |
| The meaning of 'lofty' (nisgevah) | The word denotes something set high and inaccessible, used elsewhere of God and of fortified cities. | Some stress the military image (a fortress no one can storm); others see it as a spatial metaphor (a height no one can climb). Both readings lead to the same conclusion: the knowledge is beyond human reach. |
| The emotional tone of the verse | The verse expresses reverent awe, not complaint or despair. | Some describe it as 'humble wonder' (Henry), others as a 'joyful surrender' (Cambridge Bible). The difference is slight, both agree David is not troubled by what he cannot understand. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 139 carries the superscription 'For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.' Though some later scholars have questioned Davidic authorship due to Aramaic forms (as Keil and Delitzsch note), the tradition firmly places it in David's voice. The surrounding context suggests a season of reproach; Poole and the Hebrew commentators indicate that David was defending his integrity against slanderers. In that setting, this psalm becomes a personal appeal: God knows him fully, and that knowledge is both his comfort and his awe.
The poem divides into clear strophes. Verses 1, 6 form the first: God's omniscience. The Hebrew verb forms in verses 2, 3 (yada'ta, 'you know'; banota, 'you perceive') are perfects, indicating settled, ongoing knowledge. This section ends with our verse, an exclamation, not an argument. The Cambridge Bible points out that the word translated 'lofty' (nisgevah) comes from a root meaning 'to be inaccessible,' used in Deuteronomy 2:36 for an impregnable city and in Isaiah 2:11 for God alone being exalted. The verb form is Niphal perfect, passive in sense: 'it has been set on high, beyond reach.'
The ancient reader would have felt the force of that military metaphor. David knows he cannot climb to God's level of understanding; he can only stand below and look up. This is not a cry of frustration, it is the proper posture of a creature before the Creator. In the verses that follow (7, 12), David pivots to God's omnipresence, showing that he does not flee from this knowledge but finds no place outside it. The structure itself teaches: first we admit we cannot reach God's knowledge, then we realize we cannot escape it either, and both truths should lead to worship.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note one textual suggestion, from Adam Clarke. He proposes reading peli haddaath ('this knowledge') instead of the Masoretic pelaiah daath by moving the final he from pelaiah to daath. Clarke argues this yields a more natural demonstrative, making 'knowledge' definite. The Masoretic is followed by all major versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, YLT) and the Dead Sea Scrolls material, where extant, shows no disagreement. No other textual variants are mentioned in the consulted commentaries. The verse is stable in the manuscript tradition.
Reception History
Christian tradition has consistently read Psalm 139:6 as a confession of the incomprehensibility of God. In the patristic period, Augustine drew on this verse when reflecting on God's knowledge surpassing human understanding. Medieval commentators like Thomas Aquinas used it to illustrate the distinction between God's simple, eternal knowledge and our complex, temporal knowing. The Reformers, particularly Calvin, emphasized that the verse drives believers not to speculation but to worship. In the prayer and hymnody of the church, this line has often been paired with the verses on omnipresence that follow, forming a two-part declaration: God knows me fully, and I cannot escape His presence, both are grounds for comfort and awe. Across Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox traditions, the verse is read as a humble recognition that the Creator's knowledge of His creatures can never be exhausted by the creature.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The knowledge David refers to, God's complete, intimate awareness of every person. This is not abstract; it is the way God knows each thought (v.2), each word before it is spoken (v.4), each path (v.3). The Hebrew da'at here carries the sense of discernment and skill, God knows as a craftsman knows his material.
- Why David says it is 'too wonderful', The word pil'iyah (from pala') means 'incomprehensible, extraordinary.' Clarke notes that it refers to knowledge beyond human measurement. David is not surprised that God knows more; he is stunned that God knows him so thoroughly, and that the knowing never stops.
- The proper human response, Not to parse God's knowledge, but to praise it. The verse does not try to explain. It stops in wonder. As Gill says, David could believe that God knew him; the manner of it was 'past his conception.'
Five-point outline
- God's knowledge is total, it covers our movements, thoughts, words, and paths (vv.2, 5).
- God's knowledge is internal, it reaches not just actions but motives, the 'thought afar off' (v.2).
- God's knowledge is personal, David is not speaking of general omniscience but of God knowing him (v.1, 'thou hast searched me').
- God's knowledge is beyond human categories, it cannot be compared to any human knowing (v.6).
- God's knowledge invites worship, not escape, David moves directly from this verse to a meditation on God's presence everywhere (v.7).
Illustration hooks
- The feeling of being in a room with a friend who knows you so well that you don't need to explain yourself. That quiet comfort, and the slight vulnerability, is a shadow of what David describes.
- A parent watching a toddler who thinks they are hiding. The child's 'hiding' is transparent to the parent. David realizes that before God, we are all toddlers, but the look on the parent's face is not mockery, it is delight.
- The frustration of trying to explain a complex idea to someone who lacks the background. You run out of words. David feels that way about God's knowledge, except God has the background; we are the ones without words.
Questions your congregation is asking
- If God knows everything about me, including my worst moments, does He still want me? (The psalm answers with the word 'wonderful', God's knowing is a marvel, not a threat.)
- Does David's confession mean I should stop trying to understand God? (No, he keeps seeking in the very next verses; this is humble wonder, not lazy resignation.)
- Can I be sure that God's knowledge of me is personal, not just general? (Verse 1 uses 'me' six times in the Hebrew; God's knowledge is always directed to persons, not abstractions.)
Leading a Discussion
This verse sits at the hinge of Psalm 139. David has just finished describing God's knowledge of him in concrete terms: sitting, rising, thoughts, words, paths. Then he stops. The result is not analysis, it is worship. As your group works through this passage, pay attention to how David's emotions shift: from being 'searched' to being 'hemmed in' (v.5) to standing in awe (v.6) to asking 'where can I go?' (v.7). The logic of the psalm is not cold; it is a journey.
Discussion questions
- Read verses 1, 5. List everything David says God knows about him. How does that list make you feel, exposed, comforted, or both?
- Verse 6 starts with the words 'Such knowledge.' What exactly is David pointing back to?
- Compare David's response in verse 6 with Job's response in Job 42:3. Both use the word 'wonderful' about things beyond them. How do they handle the gap between God's knowledge and their own?
- The Hebrew word nisgevah ('lofty') can mean 'set on high like an impregnable fortress.' Why would David choose a military word to describe God's knowledge?
- If God's knowledge is truly unattainable, why does David still pray 'Search me, O God' in verse 23? What does that reveal about the relationship between wonder and prayer?
- How does knowing that God knows everything about you, including what you try to hide, change the way you approach confession?
- This verse admits that we cannot fully understand how God knows us. Is that admission a stopping point or a starting point for faith? Explain.
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Job 11:7 | “Can you fathom the mystery of God? Or can you probe the limits of the Almighty? |
| Job 11:9 | Its measure is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. |
| Job 26:14 | Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways. How small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?” |
| Job 42:3 | You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ therefore I have uttered that which I didn’t understand, things too wonderful for me, which I didn’t know. |
| Psalms 13:1 | For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? |
| Psalms 40:5 | Many, Yahweh, my God, are the wonderful works which you have done, and your thoughts which are toward us. They can’t be declared back to you. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be counted. |
| Proverbs 30:2 | “Surely I am the most ignorant man, and don’t have a man’s understanding. |
| Proverbs 30:4 | Who has ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in his garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if you know? |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke argues for a small textual change in the Hebrew, reading "this knowledge" instead of an unclear word. His point is that God's comprehensive knowledge of all things, their causes and outcomes, lies completely beyond human reach. This emendation sharpens the psalmist's confession of intellectual limitation.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes stresses that the words "too wonderful" and "high" mean the knowledge is not merely hard to grasp but completely out of reach. His point is that David confesses a limit to human understanding: God's knowledge surpasses all human powers of comprehension.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin argues that David wrote this psalm to strip away every excuse and pretense, forcing the reader to face the fact that nothing is hidden from God. The proof lies in our very creation: the One who formed every part of us in the womb cannot possibly be ignorant of how we live.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator stresses that the word for "exalted" in this verse means so high as to be beyond reach, like a fortified city that cannot be captured. Such infinite knowledge leaves the Psalmist in reverent awe, unable to comprehend it fully. A human mind can never grasp the depths of God's perfect knowledge of every life and thought.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note stresses that God's knowledge is not merely vast but utterly beyond human reach. The words "wonderful" and "so high" convey awe at something so far above the psalmist that he cannot comprehend it at all, let alone attain it.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill points out that David's wonder is not about whether God knows him, but about how God knows him — the manner of divine knowledge is past human comprehension. He adds that some Jewish interpreters connect this amazement to God's omnipresence in the following verses.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
For Henry, David's point is that God's perfect knowledge is not a doctrine merely to be preached but a truth to be prayed. He makes it intensely personal: not "Thou knowest all" but "Thou knowest me," acknowledging that his own heart, thoughts, and ways are fully open before the Lord.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley focuses on the word "presently," noting that the speaker cannot grasp the manner by which God knows all things instantly and without delay. The point is not that God's knowledge is denied, but that its immediate, all-encompassing nature surpasses human comprehension.