God’s Word Translation
Psalms 139:11
11If I say, “Let the darkness hide me and let the light around me turn into night,”
Psalms 139:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
- New International Version (NIV)If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
- English Standard Version (ESV)If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,"
- New King James Version (NKJV)If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me;
Context of Psalms 139:11
9If I climb upward on the rays of the morning sun ⌞or⌟ land on the most distant shore of the sea where the sun sets, 10even there your hand would guide me and your right hand would hold on to me. If I say, “Let the darkness hide me and let the light around me turn into night,” 12even the darkness is not too dark for you. Night is as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same ⌞to you⌟. 13You alone created my inner being. You knitted me together inside my mother.
Read all of Psalms 139Psalms 139:11 word by word
וָ֭אֹמַר אַךְ־חֹ֣שֶׁךְ יְשׁוּפֵ֑נִי וְ֝לַ֗יְלָה א֣וֹר בַּעֲדֵֽנִי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 139:11
- Psalms 10:11He says to himself, “God has forgotten. He has hidden his face. He will never see it!”
- Psalms 94:7They say, “The Lord doesn’t see it. The God of Jacob doesn’t even pay attention to it.”
- Job 22:12“Isn’t God high above in the heavens? Look how high the highest stars are!
- Isaiah 29:15How horrible it will be for those who try to hide their plans from the Lord. Their deeds are done in the dark, and they say, “No one can see us” and “No one can recognize us.”
- Jeremiah 23:24“No one can hide so that I can’t see him,” declares the Lord. “I fill heaven and earth!” declares the Lord.
- Job 12:22He uncovers mysteries ⌞hidden⌟ in the darkness and brings gloom into the light.
Commentaries on Psalms 139:11
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11If 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 Genesis 3:15, “He shall “bruise” thy head, and thou shalt “bruise” his heel;” “breaketh” in Job 9:17, “He “breaketh” me with a…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-16Verses 7-16 We cannot see God, but he can see us. The psalmist did not desire to go from the Lord. Whither can I go? In the most distant corners of the world, in heaven, or in hell, I cannot go out of thy reach. No veil can hide us from God; not the thickest darkness. No disguise can save any person or action from being seen in the true light by him. Secret haunts of sin are as open before God as the most open villanies. On the other hand, the believer…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-12The psalmist shows wonder at God being everywhere at all times.Read the comment
- Rashi on Tanakh · v. 11I said, “Darkness will darken me” If I said, “I will be hidden in the darkness, and the darkness will envelop me so that You will not see me.” יְשׁוּפֵנִי is an expression of נֶשֶׁף, evening.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 139:11
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 139
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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