Mazmur 139:8-10

139:8 If I were to ascend ¹  to heaven, you would be there.

If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be. ² 

139:9 If I were to fly away ³  on the wings of the dawn, ⁴ 

and settle down on the other side ⁵  of the sea,

139:10 even there your hand would guide me,

your right hand would grab hold of me.

[139:8]  ¹ 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).

[139:8]  ² tn Heb “look, you.”

[139:9]  ³ tn Heb “rise up.”

[139:9]  ⁴ sn On the wings of the dawn. This personification of the “dawn” may find its roots in mythological traditions about the god Shachar, whose birth is described in an Ugaritic myth (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 126) and who is mentioned in Isa 14:12 as the father of Helel.

[139:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “at the end.”