Psalms 139:17

How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God! ¹  How vast is their sum total! ² 

Ps 31:19; Ps 36:7; Ps 40:5; Pr 8:31; Isa 55:8,9; Jer 29:11; Eph 3:9,10

¹ tn Heb “and to me how precious are your thoughts, O God.” The Hebrew verb יָקַר (yaqar) probably has the sense of “difficult [to comprehend]” here (see HALOT 432 s.v. יקר qal.1 and note the use of Aramaic יַקִּר in Dan 2:11). Elsewhere in the immediate context the psalmist expresses his amazement at the extent of God’s knowledge about him (see vv. 1-6, 17b-18).

² tn Heb “how vast are their heads.” Here the Hebrew word “head” is used of the “sum total” of God’s knowledge of the psalmist.