He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.
Parallel translations
- WEB He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion around him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
- KJV He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
- NKJV He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters And thick clouds of the skies.
- NASB He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds.
- NLT He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling his approach with dark rain clouds.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God veils himself in darkness and thick clouds as his canopy. It matters because it conveys both the hiddenness and the majesty of God in his coming.
Overview
David describes God making darkness his hiding place, surrounded by dark waters and thick clouds. The storm imagery expresses the awe and mystery of God's presence. Though God veils himself in cloud, he acts decisively to save, revealing his glory most fully in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ps 97:2Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.
- Deut 4:11You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.
- Joel 2:2a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like the dawn overspreading the mountains a great and strong army appears, such as never was of old, nor will ever be in ages to come.
- Ps 91:1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Ps 81:7You called out in distress, and I rescued you; I answered you from the cloud of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
- Ps 27:5For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 18:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.