Psalms 104:20

You bring darkness, and it becomes night, when all the beasts of the forest prowl.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The psalmist addresses God as the sovereign creator who governs the daily cycle, positioning this verse between the sun's setting and the lions' nocturnal hunting.

The words — The Hebrew verb תּוֹשֵׁת (ta.shet) means "you make," and חֹשֶׁךְ (cho.shekh) translates to "darkness," establishing God's direct action in producing the night.

The thread — This theme of divine control over darkness and night appears in Isaiah 45:7, where God states He creates darkness, and in Psalm 74:16, which declares both day and night belong to Him.

Why it lands — The text states that God actively establishes darkness to regulate animal behavior, requiring the reader to acknowledge divine sovereignty over the natural order without attributing night to chaos or chance.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

תָּֽשֶׁת־ta.shet-you make חֹ֭שֶׁךְCho.shekhdarkness וִ֣יהִיVi./hiand/ it may be לָ֑יְלָהLa.ye.lahnightבּֽוֹ־bo/v-in/ itתִ֝רְמֹ֗שׂtir.Mosit moves about כָּל־kol-every חַיְתוֹ־chay.tov-animal of יָֽעַר׃Ya.'ar[the] forest

King James Version

Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.

Cross-references

Isaiah 45:7 I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
Psalms 74:16 The day is Yours, and also the night; You established the moon and the sun.
Genesis 1:4 And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.
Genesis 8:22 As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”
Psalms 50:10 for every beast of the forest is Mine—the cattle on a thousand hills.
Psalms 139:10 even there Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast.
Amos 1:13 This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of the Ammonites, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory.