Psalm 139:11-12 KJV

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 139:11

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... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 139:12

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... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 139:7-12

Psalms 139:7-12. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? From thy knowledge and observation; or, from thee who art a Spirit? Whither shall I flee from thy presence? I can go nowhere but thou art there, observing and judging, approving or disapproving: nor are there any means imaginable by which I can escape the reach of thy all-penetrating eye, or withdraw myself from thy universal and unbounded presence: neither can an ascent to heaven, nor a descent to the state of the dead, secure me from... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Psalms 139:1-24

Psalms 139:0 The all-knowing, ever-present GodGod knows all about the psalmist - what he does, what he thinks, where he goes and what he says (139:1-4). Because of the realization that God is all around him, the psalmist sometimes feels helpless (5-6). A person may be tempted to look for some escape from such an overpowering presence, but no escape is possible. This may bring fear to rebels but it brings comfort to believers (7-8). Wherever they travel, God is with them (9-10). In darkness or... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Psalms 139:12

hideth not from = cannot be too dark for. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 139:1-24

Psalms 139David praised God for His omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence in this popular psalm. It is a plea for God to search the life to expose sin. It consists of four strophes of six verses each."The Gelineau version gives the psalm the heading ’The Hound of Heaven’, a reminder that Francis Thompson’s fine poem of that name owed its theme of flight and pursuit largely to the second stanza here (Psalms 139:7-12), which is one of the summits of Old Testament poetry." [Note: Kidner,... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 139:7-12

2. God’s omnipresence 139:7-12 read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 139:11-12

David spoke of the night as bruising him (Psalms 139:11) because it is often at night that harm comes to people. The only other places in the Old Testament where the Hebrew word sup, translated "overwhelm" (NASB) or "hide" (NIV), occurs are in Genesis 3:15 and Job 9:17 where the translation is "bruise." However, since darkness and light are the same to God, David felt secure always. Darkness does not hide things from God’s sight as it does from human eyes. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 139:1-24

One of the very greatest of the Pss. No grander tribute has ever been paid to the omniscience and omnipresence of God. The Ps. is ascribed to David, but the Hebrew is decisive in favour of a date very long after David, being marked by Aramaisms.1-6. God’s omniscience. 7-12. God’s omnipresence. 13-18. God’s wonderful providence in human life. 19-22. God’s hatred of sin. 23, 24. A prayer that the Psalmist may be cleansed from all evil.3. Compassest] RM ’winnowest,’ i.e. scrutinisest. 5. Beset]... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Psalms 139:11

(11) If I say . . .—Rather,I say only let darkness crush me,And light become night around me.Commentators have mostly been frightened by the metaphor in the first line, though it has been preserved both by the LXX. and Vulg., and can only be avoided either by forcing the meaning of the verb from what it bears in Genesis 3:15, Job 9:17, or altering the text. Yet the Latins could speak even in prose of a region “oppressed by darkness” (Sen. Ep. 82); and when night was used as figurative of death,... read more

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 139:11

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 139:12

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 139:7-12

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Psalms 139:1-24

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Psalms 139:12

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 139:1-24

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 139:7-12

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Psalms 139:11-12

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 139:1-24

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Psalms 139:11

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