Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted (art familiar) with all my ways.
"Thou compassest" [zaarah, from zeer, a circle, or crown] (cf. 2 Samuel 22:40). The Hebrew usually means to ventilate, or sift thoroughly, as grain is winnowed. So the Arabic, Septuagint [exichniasas, thou hast investigated], Vulgate; Jeremiah 4:11; Jeremiah 51:2. God can separate the chaff from the wheat in men's innermost characters. "My lying down" - literally, my couch. Thou siftest all that I feel or do, whether on my couch or on the way (cf. Psalms 139:1).