Psalms 139:12

New King James Version

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.

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Yea, the darkenes hideth not from thee: but the night shineth as the day: the darkenes and light are both alike.

Christian Standard Bible®
even the darkness is not dark to you.The night shines like the day;darkness and light are alike to you.

Hebrew Names Version
Even the darkness doesn't hide from you, But the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.

Easy-to-Read Version
Even the darkness is not dark to you. The night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same.

Amplified Bible
Even the darkness is not dark to You and conceals nothing from You, But the night shines as bright as the day; Darkness and light are alike to You.

American Standard Version
Even the darkness hideth not from thee, But the night shineth as the day: The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Contemporary English Version
But you see in the dark because daylight and dark are all the same to you.

Complete Jewish Bible
even darkness like this is not too dark for you; rather, night is as clear as day, darkness and light are the same.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Even the darkness is not too dark for Thee,

King James Version (1611)
Yea the darkenesse hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day: the darknes and the light are both alike to thee.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
For darkness will not be darkness with thee; but night will be light as day: as its darkness, so shall its light be to thee.

English Revised Version
Even the darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Berean Standard Bible
even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You.

Lexham English Bible
even the darkness is not too dark for you, and the night shines as the day— the darkness and the light are alike for you.

Literal Translation
Even the darkness will not be dark from You, but the night shines as the day; as is the darkness, so is the light.

New Century Version
But even the darkness is not dark to you. The night is as light as the day; darkness and light are the same to you.

New English Translation
even the darkness is not too dark for you to see, and the night is as bright as day; darkness and light are the same to you.

New Living Translation
but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.

New Life Bible
even the darkness is not dark to You. And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to You.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Even darkness, will not conceal from thee, - but, night, like day, will shine, So is the darkness, as the light!

Douay-Rheims Bible
(138-12) But darkness shall not be dark to thee, and night shall be light all the day: the darkness thereof, and the light thereof are alike to thee.

George Lamsa Translation
The darkness shall not be dark to thee; but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Good News Translation
but even darkness is not dark for you, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to you.

New American Standard Bible
Even darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.

King James Version
Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Truely the darknesse shall not darken any thing from thee, and the night shalbe as lyghtsome as the day: darknesse and lyght [to thee] are both a lyke.

New Revised Standard
even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Darby Translation
Even darkness hideth not from thee, and the night shineth as the day: the darkness is as the light.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For whi derknessis schulen not be maad derk fro thee, aud the niyt schal be liytned as the dai; as the derknessis therof, so and the liyt therof.

Young's Literal Translation
Also darkness hideth not from Thee, And night as day shineth, as [is] darkness so [is] light.

World English Bible
Even the darkness doesn't hide from you, But the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.

Revised Standard Version
even the darkness is not dark to thee, the night is bright as the day; for darkness is as light with thee.

Update Bible Version
Even the darkness does not hide from you, But the night shines as the day: The darkness and the light are both alike [to you].

Webster's Bible Translation
Yes, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light [are] both alike [to thee].

Bible in Basic English
Even the dark is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day: for dark and light are the same to you.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For my reynes are thyne, thou hast couered me in my mothers wombe.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.

Legacy Standard Bible
Even the darkness is not too dark for You,And the night is as bright as the day.Darkness and light are alike to You.

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

the darkness: Exodus 14:20, Exodus 20:21, Job 26:6, Job 34:22, Daniel 2:22, Hebrews 4:13

hideth not: Heb. darkeneth not

the darkness: etc. Heb. as is the darkness, so is the light

Reciprocal: Job 12:22 - discovereth Job 13:20 - hide myself Job 22:14 - General Ezekiel 16:36 - and thy Matthew 6:4 - seeth

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee,.... Any thing that is done by men in it; or "darkeneth not from thee" i, or causeth such darkness as to hinder the sight of any action committed. The Targum is,

"from thy Word;''

see Hebrews 4:12;

but the night shineth as the day; or "enlightens as the day" k, gives as much light with respect to God as the day does;

the darkness and the light [are] both alike [to thee]; as is the one, so is the other: the day gives him no more light than the night, and the night no more darkness than the day; he sees as well, as clearly and distinctly, in the one as in the other. The psalmist expresses the same thing in different words three or four times, as Kimchi observes, to show that so the Lord is, that thus it is with him; he has as clear a discerning of all things done in the darkest night as at bright noon day; see Job 34:21.

i לא יחשיך ממך "non obscurabit a te", Montanus; "non obtenebrant", Gejerus; so Michaelis. k יאיר "illustrat", Junius Tremellius "illuminabit", Gejerus Michaelis; so Ainsworth.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee - Margin, as in Hebrew, “darkeneth not.” Darkness does not make darkness to thee. It makes things dark to us; not to him. So it is in natural darkness; so in moral darkness ness. It seems dark to us; it is not so to him. Things appear dark to us - disappointment, bereavement, trouble, care, losses; but all is light to God. The existence of sin and suffering on the earth seems dark to us; not to him, for he sees the reasons and the end of all.

But the night shineth as the day - One is as bright and clear to him as the other.

The darkness and the light are both alike to thee - Margin, as in Hebrew, “As is the darkness so is the light.” To thee there is no difference. All is light.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 139:12. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee — Darkness and light, ignorance and knowledge, are things that stand in relation to us; God sees equally in darkness as in light; and knows as perfectly, however man is enveloped in ignorance, as if all were intellectual brightness. What is to us hidden by darkness, or unknown through ignorance, is perfectly seen and known by God; because he is all sight, all hearing, all feeling, all soul, all spirit-all in ALL, and infinite in himself. He lends to every thing; receives nothing from any thing. Though his essence be unimpartible, yet his influence is diffusible through time and through eternity. Thus God makes himself known, seen, heard, felt; yet, in the infinity of his essence, neither angel, nor spirit, nor man can see him; nor can any creature comprehend him, or form any idea of the mode of his existence. And yet vain man would be wise, and ascertain his foreknowledge, eternal purposes, infinite decrees, with all operations of infinite love and infinite hatred, and their objects specifically and nominally, from all eternity, as if himself had possessed a being and powers co-extensive with the Deity! O ye wise fools! Jehovah, the fountain of eternal perfection and love, is as unlike your creeds, as he is unlike yourselves, forgers of doctrines to prove that the source of infinite benevolence is a streamlet of capricious love to thousands, while he is an overflowing, eternal, and irresistible tide of hatred to millions of millions both of angels and men! The antiproof of such doctrines is this: he bears with such blasphemies, and does not consume their abettors. "But nobody holds these doctrines." Then I have written against nobody; and have only to add the prayer, May no such doctrines ever disgrace the page of history; or farther dishonour, as they have done, the annals of the Church!