New International Version
Psalms 139:11
11If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
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.
- 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;
- New Living Translation (NLT)I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—
Context of Psalms 139:11
9If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
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 will never notice; he covers his face and never sees.”
- Psalms 94:7They say, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.”
- Job 22:12“Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars!
- Isaiah 29:15Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?”
- Jeremiah 23:24Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.
- Job 12:22He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness 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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