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Job 24:17
17 For the morning [boqer] is to them even as [yachad] the shadow of death [tsalmaveth]: if one know [nakar] them, they are in the terrors [ballahah] of the shadow of death [tsalmaveth]. KJV-Interlinear
17 'For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness, For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness. NASB
The light is where one can see everything. Nothing is hidden from view. In the light a person can look around and see where he is, where he has come from, and where he is going. In the light a person can discern dangers from safety. In the light a person can enjoy life, with full awareness of everything around him.
The darkness here is a thick darkness. It is a darkness that has no light in it.
Even at night, on the darkest of nights, there is at least a little bit of light. Either from the moon, or stars, from nearby city lights, or reflections of some type, but at least in the night there is a little light such that a person can get around, or feel his way along with some semblance of orientation. We can even use night vision glasses these days.
But this darkness is an extreme darkness where there is no light whatsoever. Not even technology of today, or from a thousand years into our future can peer into this darkness. All senses of smell, taste, touch, hearing, and sight, cease to function.
And in this darkness there is terrible fear. One cannot see where he is, where he has come from, or where he is going. There is no orientation whatsoever. No knowledge, no means of determining ones status, or even of how to get out of the darkness.
Now, under these circumstances, the normal person would rejoice at the morning light, and fear the thick darkness as it approaches.
The shadow is a fuzzy area in between light and darkness. One can see both extremes, and again, the normal person can look at the darkness and at the light, and turn to the light because in it is security, and knowledge, and understanding, and comfort and so forth.
But this is for the normal person.
The person who rejects truth, is abnormal. The person who is indifferent toward truth is abnormal. The person who attempts to alter or compromise truth, is abnormal.
Such a person turns all normal things into the abnormal and all abnormal things into the normal.
The spiritually negative person, the wicked person, embraces the deep darkness and finds comfort within it. They relish in the unknown, but they substitute their own beliefs and invent their own security. Their desire to not be found out is so great, their indifference toward truth is so great, that they fear the light, they fear truth, and hide in the darkness of life.
They are able to see from the shadows, both ends of the spectrum. Their decisions to move toward the lies (darkness) of this life are made freely and apart from any coercion.
From the shadows of life, everyone in life knows the repercussions of living in the light of Gods word, and the repercussions of living in the darkness outside of Gods word.
No one has any excuses when their life finally ends, and all come face to face with Christ and their ultimate judgment or evaluation.
All believers will face Christ at the Judgment Seat of Christ (this is where you should want to be - believe in Christ and you will be here), and all unbelievers will face Christ at the Great White Throne (this is the place you should want to avoid - do not believe in Christ and you will end up here).
