Psalm 139:1
“O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
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Psalm 139 is a meditation on God's intimate knowledge, presence, and creative care; verse 1 opens by declaring that God has fully searched and known the psalmist.
What Does Psalm 139:1 Mean?
This opening verse declares that God has thoroughly examined the psalmist and knows him completely. "Searched" pictures a deep, careful investigation, as though God has explored every corner of the person's life. The result is full knowledge: God does not merely observe from a distance but knows the psalmist intimately and exhaustively.
This sets the theme for the whole psalm, a meditation on God's complete knowledge of and presence with each person. To be "known" by God in this way is both humbling and comforting. Nothing about us is hidden from Him -- not our thoughts, our habits, our words, or our wanderings. For someone with much to hide, this could be unsettling, but the psalm frames it as a wonder to be embraced. The God who knows us so fully is the same God who formed us and watches over us. There is profound intimacy in being so thoroughly known by our Maker. The verse invites the reader into honest relationship with a God from whom nothing is concealed, and from whom we therefore have no need to pretend. To be fully known by God is the beginning of being fully at peace before Him.
In the Original Language
"Searched" translates the Hebrew chaqar, to search out, examine, or investigate thoroughly, as one explores something deeply.
Cross References
“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.”
- Psalm 139:23
“I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways.”
- Jeremiah 17:10
“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him.”
- Hebrews 4:13
Application
Live openly before the God who already knows you completely, finding peace rather than fear in being so fully known.