Psalms 139:11

New King James Version

If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall [fn] on me,"Even the night shall be light about me;

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,"

Geneva Bible (1587)
If I say, Yet the darkenes shal hide me, euen the night shalbe light about me.

Christian Standard Bible®
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,and the light around me will be night”—

Hebrew Names Version
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me; The light around me will be night;"

Easy-to-Read Version
Suppose I wanted to hide from you and said, "Surely the darkness will hide me. The day will change to night and cover me."

Amplified Bible
If I say, "Surely the darkness will cover me, And the night will be the only light around me,"

American Standard Version
If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me, And the light about me shall be night;

Contemporary English Version
Or suppose I said, "I'll hide in the dark until night comes to cover me over."

Complete Jewish Bible
If I say, "Let darkness surround me, let the light around me be night,"

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And if I say: 'Surely the darkness shall envelop me, and the light about me shall be night';

King James Version (1611)
If I say, Surely the darkenes shall couer me: euen the night shall bee light about me.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
When I said, Surely the darkness will cover me; even the night was light in my luxury.

English Revised Version
If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me, and the light about me shall be night;

Berean Standard Bible
If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me"-

Lexham English Bible
And if I should say, "Surely darkness will cover me, and the light around me will be as night,"

Literal Translation
If I say: Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light around me.

New Century Version
I could say, "The darkness will hide me. Let the light around me turn into night."

New English Translation
If I were to say, "Certainly the darkness will cover me, and the light will turn to night all around me,"

New Living Translation
I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—

New Life Bible
If I say, "For sure the darkness will cover me and the light around me will be night,"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
If I say, Surely, darkness, shall cover me! then, night, is light about me.

Douay-Rheims Bible
(138-11) And I said: Perhaps darkness shall cover me: and night shall be my light in my pleasures.

George Lamsa Translation
If I say, Surely the darkness shall be as light upon me; even the night shall be light before my face.

Good News Translation
I could ask the darkness to hide me or the light around me to turn into night,

New American Standard Bible
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,"

King James Version
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And yf I say peraduenture the darknesse shall couer me: and the night shalbe day for me,

New Revised Standard
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,"

Darby Translation
And if I say, Surely darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Y seide, In hap derknessis schulen defoule me; and the nyyt is my liytnyng in my delicis.

Young's Literal Translation
And I say, `Surely darkness bruiseth me, Then night [is] light to me.

World English Bible
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me; The light around me will be night;"

Revised Standard Version
If I say, "Let only darkness cover me, and the light about me be night,"

Update Bible Version
If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me, And the light about me shall be night;

Webster's Bible Translation
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

Bible in Basic English
If I say, Only let me be covered by the dark, and the light about me be night;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yee the darcknesse is no darcknesse with the, but the night is as cleare as the daye, the darcknesse & light are both alike.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,"

Legacy Standard Bible
If I say, "Surely the darkness will bruise me,And the light around me will be night,"

Contextual Overview

⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? ⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. ⁹ If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, ¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. ¹¹ If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall [fn] on me,"Even the night shall be light about me; ¹² Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You. ¹³ For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. ¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; [fn] Marvelous are Your works,And that my soul knows very well. ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Surely: Psalms 10:11-13, Psalms 94:7, Job 22:12-14, Isaiah 29:15, Jeremiah 23:24

even the night: Job 12:22

Reciprocal: Numbers 32:23 - be sure your sin 1 Kings 3:20 - midnight Job 22:14 - General Job 26:6 - Hell Job 34:22 - no Ezekiel 16:36 - and thy Daniel 2:22 - he knoweth Hebrews 4:13 - is there

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 Genesis 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.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 139:11. Surely the darkness shall cover me — Should I suppose that this would serve to screen me, immediately this darkness is turned into light.