Matthew 5:14

Matthew 5:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
• New International Version (NIV)“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Context of Matthew 5:14

12Be glad and exceedingly joyful, for your reward in heaven is great [absolutely inexhaustible]; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste (purpose), how can it be made salty? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and walked on by people [when the walkways are wet and slippery]. “You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:14 word by word

Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου· οὐ δύναται πόλις κρυβῆναι ἐπάνω ὄρους κειμένη·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Yeσύsu · youG4771
• areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• the lightὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the lightφῶςphōs · lightG5457
• of the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• A cityπόλιςpolis · cityG4172
• that is setκεῖμαιkeimai · to lay/be appointedG2749
• onἐπάνωepanō · aboveG1883
• an hillὄροςoros · mountainG3735
• ·οὐou · noG3756
• cannotδύναμαιdunamai · be ableG1410
• be hidκρύπτωkruptō · to hideG2928

Cross-references for Matthew 5:14

• Proverbs 4:18But the path of the just (righteous) is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day.
• John 5:35John was the lamp that kept on burning and shining [to show you the way], and you were willing for a while to rejoice in his light.
• John 12:36While you have the Light, believe and trust in the Light [have faith in it, hold on to it, rely on it], so that you may become sons of Light [being filled with Light as followers of God].” Jesus said these things, and then He left and hid Himself from them.
• Romans 2:19and [if you] are confident that you are a [qualified] guide to the blind [those untaught in theology], a light to those who are in darkness,
• 2 Corinthians 6:14Do not be unequally bound together with unbelievers [do not make mismatched alliances with them, inconsistent with your faith]. For what partnership can righteousness have with lawlessness? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
• Ephesians 5:8For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [live as those who are native-born to the Light]
• Philippians 2:15so that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish in the midst of a [morally] crooked and [spiritually] perverted generation, among whom you are seen as bright lights [beacons shining out clearly] in the world [of darkness],
• 1 Thessalonians 5:5for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We do not belong to the night nor to darkness.
• Revelation 1:20As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels (divine messengers) of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
• Revelation 2:1“To the angel (divine messenger) of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of the One who holds [firmly] the seven stars [which are the angels or messengers of the seven churches] in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands (the seven churches):
• Genesis 11:4They said, “Come, let us build a city for ourselves, and a tower whose top will reach into the heavens, and let us make a [famous] name for ourselves, so that we will not be scattered [into separate groups] and be dispersed over the surface of the entire earth [as the Lord instructed].”
• Revelation 21:14And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Christ).

Commentaries on Matthew 5:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14Ye 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, עולם נר 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…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14The light of the world - The light of the world often denotes the sun, John 11:9. The sun renders objects visible, shows their form, their nature, their beauties, their deformities. The term light is often applied to religious teachers. See Matthew 4:16; Luke 2:32; John 1:4; John 8:12; Isaiah 49:6. It is pre-eminently applied to Jesus in these places, because he is, in the moral world, what the sun is in the natural world. The apostles, Christian…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-16Verses 13-16 Ye are the salt of the earth. Mankind, lying in ignorance and wickedness, were as a vast heap, ready to putrify; but Christ sent forth his disciples, by their lives and doctrines to season it with knowledge and grace. If they are not such as they should be, they are as salt that has lost its savour. If a man can take up the profession of Christ, and yet remain graceless, no other doctrine, no other means, can make him profitable. Our light…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14Light of the world … city on a hill: How the disciples live will inspire others to live the same way and honor God (see Isaiah 2:2–5; 42:6; 49:6; 51:4; 56:6–8; 60:1–3; Philippians 2:15).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1613-16. We have here the practical application of the foregoing principles to those disciples who sat listening to them, and to their successors in all time. Our Lord, though He began by pronouncing certain characters to be blessed--without express reference to any of His hearers--does not close the beatitudes without intimating that such characters were in existence, and that already they were before Him. Accordingly, from characters He comes to persons…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 5:14

• Agency
• Influence
• Instruction
• Light
• Readings, Select
• Religion
• Righteous
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Agree
• Candle
• Communication
• Despitefully
• Enemy
• Fornication
• Forswear
• Gift
• Hunger
• Inherit

Commentaries on Matthew 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings