American Standard Version
Matthew 5:14
14Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.
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
12Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you. 13Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. 15Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house. 16Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Read all of Matthew 5Matthew 5:14 word by word
Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου· οὐ δύναται πόλις κρυβῆναι ἐπάνω ὄρους κειμένη·Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Matthew 5:14
- Proverbs 4:18But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
- John 5:35He was the lamp that burneth and shineth; and ye were willing to rejoice for a season in his light.
- John 12:36While ye have the light, believe on the light, that ye may become sons of light. These things spake Jesus, and he departed and hid himself from them.
- Romans 2:19and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them that are in darkness,
- 2 Corinthians 6:14Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness?
- Ephesians 5:8for ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light
- Philippians 2:15that ye may become blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as lights in the world,
- 1 Thessalonians 5:5for ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness;
- Revelation 1:20the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks are seven churches.
- Revelation 2:1To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks:
- Genesis 11:4And they said, Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
- Revelation 21:14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
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
In the dictionaries
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries