Psalm 139:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

NIV: even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

NASB: Even darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.

CSB: even the darkness is not dark to you. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to you.

NLT: 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.

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

NKJV: 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.

God can see clearly through the darkness as though it were bright light. Nothing obscures His vision. He sees both sin and suffering distinctly. He notices what we do, whether it's righteous or sinful (Hebrews 4:13). He sees our situations, whether they are happy or desperate (Romans 8:35–39).

In the garden of Eden God saw Adam and Eve's sin as well as the guilty couple themselves. They tried to hide from God's presence, but their attempt was futile (Genesis 3:8–9). When Cain murdered his brother Abel, the Lord told Cain, "The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground" (Genesis 4:10). When civilization became thoroughly corrupt in the days before the flood, "the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth" (Genesis 6:5).

But God also sees our suffering. He saw the suffering of the Hebrews in Egypt. In Exodus 3:7 we read the Lord's words: "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt." In his first letter to persecuted, suffering believers the apostle Peter wrote: "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer" (1 Peter 3:12).

Psalm 139:7–12 follows a passage focused on God's omniscience. This section of the psalm describes His omnipresence: His ability to be everywhere at once. David mentions some of the places he might go, only to discover that God is there. The knowledge of God's presence comforted David. He knew God would be with him everywhere he went.

In this psalm David marvels at God's amazing characteristics. God knows everything about him: where he goes, all David's thoughts and everything about his conduct. The Lord knows what David will say even before David says it. There is no place David can go that God isn't already present. David marvels at God's creative work in the womb. He is thankful for God's innumerable thoughts for him and for God's presence day and night. Finally, David's thoughts turn to the wicked. He considers them God's enemies and his, and longs for God to slay them. David is disgusted by evil people because they rail against God and take His name in vain. He asks God to search his heart to see if any sin is there, and he asks God to lead him in the way everlasting.

This psalm of David lies in the fifth division of Psalms, Psalms 107—150. It discloses information about God's omniscience: He knows everything. It explains His omnipresence: that He is everywhere. It declares His omnipotence: He formed every part of human beings. It also describes His holiness: He judges the wicked and searches the heart. These attributes reflect common themes across both the Old and New Testaments.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.