Luke 1:79 BSB — MannaFest

Luke 1:79

to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

To shine upon them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death; To guide our feet into the way of peace.

KJV

To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

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Commentary

0 voices

Cyril of Alexandria

Commentary on the Gospel of Luke (444)

For the world, indeed, was wandering in error, serving the creation in the place of the Creator, and was darkened over by the blackness of ignorance, and a night, as it were, that had fallen upon the minds of all, permitted them not to see Him, Who both by nature and truly is God. But the Lord of all rose for the Israelites, like a light and a sun.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

Gregory of Nazianzus

ORATION 30.3, ON THE SON (390)

What greater destiny can befall man's humility than that he should be intermingled with God, and by this intermingling should be deified, and that we should be so visited by the "dayspring from on high"? Further, that even the holy thing that should be born should be called the Son of the Most High and that he should be given "a name that is above every name"? And what else can this be but God?

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

To give light ... - See the notes at Mat 4:16. To guide our feet ... - The figure in these verses is taken from travelers, who, being overtaken by night, know not what to do, and who wait patiently for the morning light, that they may know which way to go. So man wandered. So he became benighted. So he sat in the shadow of death.

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1907: “'The Tender Mercy of Our God'” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1886)

OBSERVE HOW ZACHARIAS, in this his joyful song, extolled the remission of sins, as one of the most extraordinary proofs of the tender mercy of our God. He had been dumb for a season, as a chastisement for his unbelief; and therefore he used his recovered speech to sing of pardoning mercy. No salvation is possible without forgiveness, and so Zacharias says, "To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins."

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

16 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
ἐπιφᾶναι	epiphanai	to shine upon	G2014 →
τοῖς	tois	those	G3588 →
ἐν	en	in	G1722 →
σκότει	skotei	darkness	G4655 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
σκιᾷ	skia	in [the] shadow	G4639 →
θανάτου	thanatou	of death	G2288 →
καθημένοις,	kathēmenois	sitting,	G2521 →
τοῦ	tou	<the>	G3588 →
κατευθῦναι	kateuthunai	to direct	G2720 →
τοὺς	tous	the	G3588 →
πόδας	podas	feet	G4228 →
ἡμῶν	hēmōn	of us	G3165 →
εἰς	eis	into	G1519 →
ὁδὸν	hodon	[the] way	G3598 →
εἰρήνης.¶	eirēnēs	of peace.	G1515 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
leads to
- John 8:12
  Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- 1 John 1:7
  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Through
Isaiah 9:2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
leads to
- Ephesians 5:8
  For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- John 12:46
  I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Luke 1:78–79
  because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Matthew 4:16
  the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
Through
Matthew 4:16
the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
leads to
- Isaiah 9:2
  The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
Through
Acts 26:18
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified…
leads to
- 1 Peter 2:9
  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

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About Luke

The Return of the Prodigal Son — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Luke: the study guide →Read chapter 1 →The featured study →

Continue: Luke 1 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Luke

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Luke