Psalms 139:11
in Psalms 139If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me”—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me, And the light about me shall be night;
KJV
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
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This verse in Psalms 139
Commentary
9 notes on this verseIf I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me. Dense darkness may oppress me, but it cannot shut me out from thee, or thee from me. Thou seest as well without the light as with it, since thou art not dependent upon light which is thine own creature, for the full exercise of thy perceptions. Moreover, thou art present with me whatever may be the hour; and being present you discover all that I think, or feel, or do.
This site's exposition
Surely the darkness will hide me
on Psalms 139:11-12
The final hiding place is the night. The psalm answers that darkness is as light to God, and that the night shines for Him like the day. Turning out the light hides nothing from Him.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
By which most fervent desire, in the manner of fire, our spirit is not only made agile for ascent, but also by a certain learned ignorance is rapt above itself into darkness and ecstasy, so that not only does it say with the bride: We …
Likewise we Christians who are Christ's servants should truly stand valiantly in wakefulness like "good and faithful servants" who are eager to do honor to their master. Let us gird ourselves in asceticism, inwardly strengthened by austerity, having the lamps of our hearts filled with …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
"The darkness darkeneth not from thee, for there is no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves." No hypocritical mask or disguise, how specious soever, can save any person or action from appearing in a true light before God. Secret haunts of sin are as open before God as the most open and barefaced villanies.
If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me,.... The darkness of a cloud or of the night, so that my actions shall not be seen; that is, if I entertain such a thought in my mind, that what I do in the dark will escape the sight and knowledge of God, and so be emboldened to commit it; even the night shall be light about me; and make all my works manifest, as light does.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me. Dense darkness may oppress me, but it cannot shut me out from thee, or thee from me. Thou seest as well without the light as with it, since thou art not dependent upon light which is thine own creature, for the full exercise of thy perceptions. Moreover, thou art present with me whatever may be the hour; and being present you discover all that I think, or feel, or do. Men are still so foolish as to prefer night and darkness for their evil deeds; but so impossible is it for anything to be hidden from the Lord that they might just as well transgress in broad daylight. A good man will not wish to be hidden by the darkness, a wise man will not expect any such thing. If we were so foolish as to make sure of concealment because the place was shrouded in midnight, we might well be alarmed out of our security by the fact that, as far as God is concerned, we always dwell in the light; for even the night itself glows with a revealing force, —even the night shall be light about me. Let us think of this if ever we are tempted to take license from the dark—it is light about us. If the darkness be light, how great is that light in which we dwell! Note well how David keeps his song in the first person; let us mind that we do the same as we cry with Hagar, "Thou God seest me."
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Surely the darkness shall cover me - Should I suppose that this would serve to screen me, immediately this darkness is turned into light.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me - If I seek to find refuge in the darkness of the night so that God would not see me. The word rendered “cover” - שׁוף shûph - means properly to snap, to gape after; then, to lie in wait for; and then, to attack, or fall upon anyone, unexpectedly. It is rendered “bruise” (twice) in Gen 3:15, “He shall “bruise” thy head, and thou shalt “bruise” his heel;” “breaketh” in Job 9:17, “He “breaketh” me with a tempest;” and in this place “cover.” It does not occur elsewhere. Here it means to fall upon; to overpower; to cover. The idea is, If it should come suddenly upon me; if I should be involved in sudden darkness - “as if” the darkness should come and attempt to “snatch” me away from God. All this would be in vain, for it would be, so far as God is concerned, bright day around me. Even the night shall be light about me - In respect to me. It shall be as if I stood in the full blaze of light. God can see me still; he can mark my goings; he can perceive all that I do as plainly then as at mid-day. This “is” so: and what a thought this is for a wicked man who seeks to escape detection in his crimes by perpetrating them in the night! What a thought for a good man, that in the darkest night of sorrow, when there seems to be nothing but deep midnight, when there appears to be not a ray of light in his dwelling, or on his path that all to the eye of God is as clear as noon-day! For in that night of sorrow God sees him as plainly as in the brightest days of prosperity and joy.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Even there I have no asylum, for no darkness will obscure [anything] from You.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָ֭אֹמַר | vaomar | and I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַךְ־ | ʾakh- | surely | H389 → | 161 times |
| חֹ֣שֶׁךְ | choshekh | darkness | H2822 → | 80 times |
| יְשׁוּפֵ֑נִי | yeshufeni | it will crush me | H7779 → | |
| וְ֝לַ֗יְלָה | velaylah | and [will be] night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| א֣וֹר | ʾor | [the] light | H216 → | 121 times |
| בַּעֲדֵֽנִי׃ | baadeni | behind me | H1157 → | 105 times |
וָ֭אֹמַרand I said
vaomarH559 →5305 times
אַךְ־surely
ʾakh-H389 →161 times
חֹ֣שֶׁךְdarkness
choshekhH2822 →80 times
יְשׁוּפֵ֑נִיit will crush me
yeshufeniH7779 →
וְ֝לַ֗יְלָהand [will be] night
velaylahH3915 →233 times
א֣וֹר[the] light
ʾorH216 →121 times
בַּעֲדֵֽנִי׃behind me
baadeniH1157 →105 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 23:24“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good.
- Isaiah 29:15
Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 139:7
Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?
- Psalms 90:8
You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
- Amos 9:2–3
Though they dig down to Sheol, from there My hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, from there I will pull them down.
- Proverbs 15:3
Through
Job 12:22He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into light.
it leads to
- Daniel 2:22
He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.
- 1 Corinthians 4:5
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each…
- 1 Corinthians 2:10
But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
- Daniel 2:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Breviloquium, Part 5; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Sahdona the Syrian, BOOK OF PERFECTION 69.