139:7 Where can I go to escape your spirit?
Where can I flee to escape your presence? 1
139:8 If I were to ascend 2 to heaven, you would be there.
If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be. 3
1 tn Heb “Where can I go from your spirit, and where from your face can I flee?” God’s “spirit” may refer here (1) to his presence (note the parallel term, “your face,” and see Ps 104:29-30, where God’s “face” is his presence and his “spirit” is the life-giving breath he imparts) or (2) to his personal Spirit (see Ps 51:10).
2 tn The Hebrew verb סָלַק (salaq, “to ascend”) occurs only here in the OT, but the word is well-attested in Aramaic literature from different time periods and displays a wide semantic range (see DNWSI 2:788-90).
3 tn Heb “look, you.”