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

PSALMS 139:12KJV
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Psalms 139:12 (KJV)

What does Psalms 139:12 mean?

Psalms 139:12 says that darkness cannot hide anything from God; to Him, night is as bright as day, and there is no difference between darkness and light. This verse teaches that nothing is hidden from God’s sight, no matter how concealed it may seem to people.

King David is speaking to God, reflecting on God’s complete knowledge and presence. David is expressing awe that even the deepest darkness cannot cover anything from God, highlighting God’s ability to see and know all things at all times. This verse is part of a larger psalm about God’s intimate awareness of every part of a person’s life.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 139:12

  • "darkness" (חֹשֶׁךְ, ḥoshekh): This word often means deep darkness or obscurity. David uses it to show that even the thickest darkness cannot hide anything from God.
  • "hideth" (יָכַס, yākhas): This verb means to cover or conceal. The verse stresses that darkness does not have the power to conceal anything from God.
  • "night" (לַיְלָה, laylah): The word for night here points to times when things are naturally hidden from human eyes, but not from God.
  • "shineth" (אוֹר, or): This verb means to give light or shine. The verse says that night shines like day before God, emphasizing that He sees just as clearly in darkness as in light.

Why Psalms 139:12 matters

  • Psalms 139:12 clears up the idea that God’s knowledge is limited by physical conditions like darkness or night; nothing is hidden from Him.
  • The verse emphasizes God’s constant presence and awareness, which is a comfort in the context of the whole psalm about God’s care and knowledge of each person.
  • This verse connects to the wider passage by showing that God’s understanding and presence are not just theoretical but practical, reaching into every hidden or secret place in a person’s life.

Where else these words appear

“light” Hebrew H219 · used in 4 verses

  • 2 Kings 4:39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.
  • Esther 8:16 The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.
  • Isaiah 26:19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

“darkness” Hebrew H2825 · used in 5 verses

  • Genesis 15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
  • Psalms 82:5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
  • Isaiah 8:22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

“hideth” Hebrew H2821 · used in 18 verses

  • Exodus 10:15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
  • Psalms 105:28 He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.
  • Lamentations 4:8 Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.

“shineth” Hebrew H215 · used in 43 verses

  • Genesis 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
  • Nehemiah 9:19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.
  • Psalms 105:39 He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.