Psalms 139:12

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

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

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

גַּם־חֹשֶׁךְ֮ לֹֽא־יַחְשִׁ֢יךְ מִ֫מֶּ֥ךָ וְ֭לַיְלָה כַּיּ֣וֹם יָאִ֑יר כַּ֝חֲשֵׁיכָ֗ה כָּאוֹרָֽה׃

Transliteration

Even-ḥōšek not-yaḥšîk from-you, and-laylâ kayyôm yāʾîr; kaḥăšêkâ kāʾôrâ

Grammar Details

*ḥōšek*: noun, masculine singular - darkness
*yaḥšîk*: verb, Hiphil imperfect 3rd person masculine singular - it darkens/hides
*laylâ*: noun, masculine singular - night
*kayyôm*: preposition + definite article + noun, masculine singular - as the day
*yāʾîr*: verb, Hiphil imperfect 3rd person masculine singular - it shines/gives light
*kaḥăšêkâ*: preposition + definite article + noun, feminine singular - as the darkness
*kāʾôrâ*: preposition + definite article + noun, feminine singular - as the light

Word Meanings

*yaḥšîk*: darkens/hides/conceals
*yāʾîr*: shines/gives light/illuminates
*kaḥăšêkâ*: as the darkness/like the darkness
*kāʾôrâ*: as the light/like the light

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Job 34:22 : 22 There is no darkness, nor thick gloom, Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
Dan 2:22 : 22 he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
Heb 4:13 : 13 And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Exod 14:20 : 20 and it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud and the darkness, yet gave it light by night: and the one came not near the other all the night.
Exod 20:21 : 21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
Job 26:6 : 6 Sheol is naked before [God], And Abaddon hath no covering.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Ps 139:10-11
2 verses
89%
10Even there shall thy hand lead me, And thy right hand shall hold me.
11If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me, And the light about me shall be night;
Ps 18:28
78%
28For thou wilt light my lamp: Jehovah my God will lighten my darkness.
Job 17:12-13
2 verses
78%
12They change the night into day: The light, [say they], is near unto the darkness.
13If I look for Sheol as my house; If I have spread my couch in the darkness;
2 Sam 22:29
77%
29For thou art my lamp, O Jehovah; And Jehovah will lighten my darkness.
Ps 139:13
77%
13For thou didst form my inward parts: Thou didst cover me in my mother's womb.
Ps 104:20
77%
20Thou makest darkness, and it is night, Wherein all the beasts of the forest creep forth.
Job 22:11
77%
11Or darkness, so that thou canst not see, And abundance of waters cover thee.
Job 38:19
77%
19Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
Dan 2:22
76%
22he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
Job 34:22
76%
22There is no darkness, nor thick gloom, Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
Job 10:22
76%
22The land dark as midnight, [The land] of the shadow of death, without any order, And where the light is as midnight.
Ps 74:16
76%
16The day is thine, the night also is thine: Thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
Ps 139:7-8
2 verses
75%
7Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there.
Job 12:22
74%
22He uncovereth deep things out of darkness, And bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
Ps 88:12
74%
12Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? And thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
Job 23:17
74%
17Because I was not cut off before the darkness, Neither did he cover the thick darkness from my face.
Ps 139:1-4
4 verses
74%
1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. O Jehovah, thou hast searched me, and known [me].
2Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; Thou understandest my thought afar off.
3Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, And art acquainted with all my ways.
4For there is not a word in my tongue, But, lo, O Jehovah, thou knowest it altogether.
John 1:5
74%
5And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not.
Job 29:3
74%
3When his lamp shined upon my head, And by his light I walked through darkness;
Job 5:14
74%
14They meet with darkness in the day-time, And grope at noonday as in the night.
Job 3:4-6
3 verses
73%
4Let that day be darkness; Let not God from above seek for it, Neither let the light shine upon it.
5Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it for their own; Let a cloud dwell upon it; Let all that maketh black the day terrify it.
6As for that night, let thick darkness seize upon it: Let it not rejoice among the days of the year; Let it not come into the number of the months.
Amos 5:20
73%
20Shall not the day of Jehovah be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
Lam 3:2
73%
2He hath led me and caused me to walk in darkness, and not in light.
Job 28:3
73%
3[ Man] setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
Job 22:13
73%
13And thou sayest, What doth God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness?
Ps 104:2
73%
2Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment; Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain;
Jer 13:16
72%
16Give glory to Jehovah your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.
Ps 139:15-16
2 verses
72%
15My frame was not hidden from thee, When I was made in secret, [And] curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, [Even] the days that were ordained [for me], When as yet there was none of them.
Ps 36:9
72%
9For with thee is the fountain of life: In thy light shall we see light.
2 Sam 22:12
72%
12And he made darkness pavilions round about him, Gathering of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
Ps 121:6
72%
6The sun shall not smite thee by day, Nor the moon by night.
Luke 11:35-36
2 verses
72%
35Look therefore whether the light that is in thee be not darkness.
36If therefore thy whole body be full of light, having no {G5100} part dark, it shall be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining doth give thee light.
Job 24:16-17
2 verses
72%
16In the dark they dig through houses: They shut themselves up in the day-time; They know not the light.
17For the morning is to all of them as thick darkness; For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
Ps 18:11
72%
11He made darkness his hiding-place, his pavilion round about him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
Job 11:17
72%
17And [thy] life shall be clearer than the noonday; Though there be darkness, it shall be as the morning.
Prov 7:9
72%
9In the twilight, in the evening of the day, In the middle of the night and in the darkness.
Job 3:9
72%
9Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark: Let it look for light, but have none; Neither let it behold the eyelids of the morning:
Prov 4:19
71%
19The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble.
1 John 1:5
71%
5And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.