Matthew 5:14 BSB — MannaFest

Matthew 5:14

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.

KJV

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

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Commentary

3 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

Ye are the light of the world - That is, the instruments which God chooses to make use of to illuminate the minds of men; as he uses the sun (to which probably he pointed) to enlighten the world. Light of the world, נר עולם ner olam, was a title applied to the most eminent rabbins. Christ transfers the title from these, and gives it to his own disciples, who, by the doctrines that he taught them, were to be the means of diffusing the light of life throughout the universe.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

Jerome

Commentary on Matthew (420)

(Verset 14 et suiv.) You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Christ call himself the Light of the world ( John viii. 12 ), and they are workers together with him, and have some of his honour put upon them. Truly the light is sweet, it is welcome; the light of the first day of the world was so, when it shone out of darkness; so is the morning light of every day; so is the gospel, and those that spread it, to all sensible people.

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The restoration or non-restoration of grace, or true living Christianity, to those who have lost it, has, in our judgment, nothing at all to do here. The question is not, If a man lose his grace, how shall that grace be restored to him? but, Since living Christianity is the only "salt of the earth," if men lose that, what else can supply its place?

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1109: “The Light of the World” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1873)

THIS title had been given by the Jews to certain of their eminent Rabbis. With great pomposity they spoke of Rabbi Judah, or Rabbi Jochanan, as the lamps of the universe, the lights of the world. It must have sounded strange in the ears of the Scribes and Pharisees, to hear that same title, in all soberness, applied to a few bronzed-faced and rough-handed peasants and fishermen who had become disciples of Jesus. Jesus, in effect, said—not the Rabbis, not the Scribes, not the assembled Sanhedrim, but you, My humble followers, you are the light of the world!

Modern Voices1 voice

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

1906–1945

The Cost of Discipleship (1937)

A community of Jesus which seeks to hide itself has ceased to follow him.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

13 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
Ὑμεῖς	Humeis	You yourselves	G4771 →
ἐστε	este	are	G1510 →
τὸ	to	the	G3588 →
φῶς	phōs	light	G5457 →
τοῦ	tou	of the	G3588 →
κόσμου·	kosmou	world;	G2889 →
οὐ	ou	Not	G3756 →
δύναται	dunatai	is able	G1410 →
πόλις	polis	a city	G4172 →
κρυβῆναι	krubēnai	to be hidden	G2928 →
ἐπάνω	epanō	on	G1883 →
ὄρους	orous	a hill	G3735 →
κειμένη·	keimenē	lying;	G2749 →

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
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.”
leads to
- John 12:46
  I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness.
- John 9:5
  While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
- John 12:35
  Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the…
- Job 33:28
  He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and I will live to see the light.’
- John 1:4–9
  In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
Through
Proverbs 4:18
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
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.”
- Job 11:17
  Your life will be brighter than noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.
- Daniel 12:3
  Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.

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Light

And then He hands the identical title to a crowd on a hillside. Of all the images in Scripture, this is the one that gets given away: and the giving is His, not a preacher's application.

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The Light of the World

The same words, handed to those who follow Him: “ye are the light of the world.”

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The Beatitudes

Eight blessings from the mountain — each with roots deep in the Psalms and Isaiah — and the shape of the life Jesus calls blessed.

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The Pharisees Question Jesus — James Tissot

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Divorce: What Jesus Said, MannaFest

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About Matthew

John the Baptist Baptizes Jesus — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Matthew: the study guide →Read chapter 5 →The featured study →

Continue: Matthew 5 →

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 Matthew

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Matthew