He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds.
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.
- BSB He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.
- NKJV He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters And thick clouds of the skies.
- 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 are around him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
- Deut 4:11You came near and stood under the mountain. The mountain burned with fire to the heart of the sky, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.
- Joel 2:2A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn spreading on the mountains, a great and strong people; there has never been the like, neither will there be any more after them, even to the years of many generations.
- Ps 91:1He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Ps 81:7You called in trouble, and I delivered you. I answered you in the secret place of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Meribah.” Selah.
- Ps 27:5For in the day of trouble he will keep me secretly in his pavilion. In the covert of his tabernacle he will hide me. He will lift me up on 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.