Psalm 104:20 kjv
Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
Psalm 104:20 nkjv
You make darkness, and it is night, In which all the beasts of the forest creep about.
Psalm 104:20 niv
You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
Psalm 104:20 esv
You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
Psalm 104:20 nlt
You send the darkness, and it becomes night,
when all the forest animals prowl about.
Psalm 104 20 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 1:3-5 | And God said, "Let there be light"... God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night... | God's initial creation of light and darkness. |
| Gen 1:14-18 | God made two great lights... to separate the day from the night... | God's order and purpose for celestial bodies. |
| Job 38:12-13 | Have you commanded the morning...? To rout the wicked...? | Implies a purpose for the darkness (for night dwellers). |
| Job 38:39-41 | Can you hunt the prey for the lion...? Who provides food for the raven...? | God provides for wild predators. |
| Ps 19:2 | Day to day utters speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. | Night has its own divine revelation and purpose. |
| Ps 65:8 | You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice. | God orchestrates and brings joy in time's cycles. |
| Ps 74:16 | The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have prepared the light and the sun. | God owns and determines day and night. |
| Ps 104:21 | The young lions roar for their prey, and seek their food from God. | Immediate context; God provides for nocturnal predators. |
| Ps 147:9 | He gives to the beast its food, and to the young ravens that cry. | God's universal provision for animals. |
| Isa 45:7 | I form the light and create darkness... I make well-being and create calamity... | God's absolute sovereignty over light and darkness. |
| Jer 31:35 | Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night... | God establishes and sustains the natural order. |
| Jer 33:20 | If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night... | God's unchanging covenant through daily rhythms. |
| Mt 6:26 | Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather... yet your heavenly Father feeds them. | God's general provision for wild creatures. |
| Luke 12:24 | Consider the ravens... God feeds them. | Reiterates God's detailed care for creation. |
| Neh 9:6 | You made heaven, the heaven of heavens... the earth and everything on it... and You preserve them all. | God's continuous preservation of all creation. |
| Col 1:17 | He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. | Christ's active role in sustaining creation. |
| Heb 1:3 | ...and upholding all things by the word of His power... | Christ's divine power sustains the universe. |
| Acts 17:28 | For in Him we live and move and have our being... | God's immanent presence sustains all life. |
| 1 Cor 8:6 | ...one God, the Father, from whom are all things... and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things... | God as ultimate source and sustainer. |
| Rom 1:20 | For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes... are clearly seen... | Creation reveals God's attributes, including His ordered control. |
Psalm 104 verses
Psalm 104 20 Meaning
God, as the supreme Creator, orchestrates the transition from day to darkness, bringing forth the night. This established night period serves as the appointed time when wild forest animals become active, moving about to find their sustenance as part of God's deliberate and purposeful design for creation.
Psalm 104 20 Context
Psalm 104 is a magnificent hymn of praise to Yahweh, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, echoing and elaborating on themes found in Genesis 1. It vividly portrays God's majesty through His creative works, from establishing the heavens and earth to regulating natural phenomena and providing for all living creatures. Verse 20 fits into a section (vv. 19-23) detailing God's divine ordering of time—setting the moon for fixed times and the sun for its appointed going down. This verse specifically highlights how God establishes night and the corresponding activity of wild animals during that time, contrasting with human labor by day, all demonstrating God's meticulous care and design in nature.
Psalm 104 20 Word analysis
- You bring darkness: Hebrew: תָּשֶׁת־חֹ֖שֶׁךְ (tashet-choshekh). tashet, from the root שִׁית (shit), means to set, put, or place. This denotes an active, deliberate act by God, not merely a natural phenomenon. choshekh refers to physical darkness, the absence of light. This signifies God's direct, sovereign control over this aspect of creation, establishing darkness as an intentional part of His design, rather than an unmanaged void.
- and it becomes night: Hebrew: וַיְהִי־לָֽיְלָה (vayehi-laylah). vayehi means "and it was" or "and it became," indicating the establishment of a state or an outcome. laylah is the common Hebrew word for night. This phrase emphasizes the precise and ordered rhythm of creation, showing that the transition into night is a divinely ordained, regular occurrence.
- in it: Hebrew: בּֽוֹ (bo). A prepositional phrase meaning "in it," referring directly back to the "night" previously established. This specifies the exact temporal setting and environment for the ensuing animal activity, emphasizing the perfect alignment between God's timing and creaturely behavior.
- all the beasts of the forest: Hebrew: כָּל־חַיְתוֹ־יָ֑עַר (kol-chaytō-ya'ar). kol means "all" or "every." chaytō (singular: חַיָּה chayah) refers to a wild animal or beast, distinct from domesticated animals. ya'ar denotes a forest, woods, or thicket, the natural habitat for these creatures. This specifies the particular group of creatures that are active during the night, highlighting the diversity of God's creation and His provision for each according to its nature and habitat.
- prowl: Hebrew: תִּרְמֹֽשׂ (tirmos). From the root רָמַשׂ (ramas), which means to creep, crawl, move about, or swarm. While it can apply to various moving creatures, in this context it implies the purposeful, active movement of wild animals during the night, typically for hunting or foraging. It describes their natural and essential behavior ordained by the Creator, without a negative connotation of menace within this Psalm's immediate context.
Words-group Analysis
- "You bring darkness, and it becomes night": This opening phrase underscores God's personal agency and ultimate authority over the diurnal cycle. The transition from light to darkness is not an autonomous natural event but a deliberate act of divine command and ordering. It serves as a continuous act of creation, maintaining the established world, much like the original separation of light and darkness in Genesis 1.
- "in it all the beasts of the forest prowl": This directly links God's established time of night with the divinely appointed activity of a specific category of creatures—wild animals. It highlights a key purpose for darkness: to provide a time and cover for nocturnal and crepuscular animals to hunt, forage, and move about, seeking their provision (as expanded upon in verse 21). This illustrates God's intricate and purposeful design, ensuring that every part of His creation is cared for and has its role within the established cosmic order.
Psalm 104 20 Bonus section
The functional aspect of darkness in this verse for wild animals implicitly contrasts with its symbolic use elsewhere in Scripture where darkness might represent sin, ignorance, or judgment. Here, darkness is portrayed purely as a beneficial and necessary component of the Creator's good design, facilitating life for certain creatures. This verse also underscores the inherent order and ecological balance within God's creation, where different forms of life thrive under different temporal conditions, all sustained by His continuous providential care. It refutes any pagan notion that night or wild nature are realms outside of the true God's control, instead proclaiming His absolute dominion over all.
Psalm 104 20 Commentary
Psalm 104:20 celebrates the meticulous wisdom of God in regulating the rhythm of day and night and demonstrating His sovereign provision for all creation. This verse emphasizes that darkness is not a void or a chaotic force, but an intentional part of God's benevolent design, actively "brought forth" by Him. It highlights that the natural world, even its untamed aspects, operates under divine direction. Night provides the ordained time and conditions for "all the beasts of the forest" to "prowl," a term here signifying their natural movement and search for sustenance, not implying menace within this context of praise for creation's order. This showcases God's intricate and all-encompassing care, ensuring that every creature, whether human or wild animal, has its specific time and resources allocated within the perfectly ordered tapestry of creation.