Matthew 4:16

Matthew 4:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
• New International Version (NIV)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.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned."
• New King James Version (NKJV)The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.”

Context of Matthew 4:16

14This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 15Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, along the road by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. 17From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 18As he was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter), and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen.

Matthew 4:16 word by word

ὁ λαὸς ὁ καθήμενος ἐν σκότει φῶς εἶδεν μέγα, καὶ τοῖς καθημένοις ἐν χώρᾳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου φῶς ἀνέτειλεν αὐτοῖς.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The peopleὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• The peopleλαόςlaos · a peopleG2992
• satκάθημαιkathēmai · to sitG2521
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• darknessσκότοςskotos · darknessG4655
• sawὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• lightφῶςphōs · lightG5457
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• to themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• the regionχώραchōra · countryG5561
• shadowσκιάskia · shadowG4639
• of deathθάνατοςthanatos · deathG2288
• is sprung upἀνατέλλωanatellō · to riseG393

Cross-references for Matthew 4:16

• Psalms 107:10Others sat in darkness and gloom — prisoners in cruel chains —
• Isaiah 42:6“I am the Lord. I have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will hold you by your hand. I will watch over you, and I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations,
• Isaiah 60:1Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord shines over you.
• Micah 7:8Do not rejoice over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will stand up; though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.
• Luke 1:78Because of our God’s merciful compassion, the dawn from on high will visit us
• Luke 2:32a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel.
• Job 3:5May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it. May what darkens the day terrify it.
• Job 10:22It is a land of blackness like the deepest darkness, gloomy and chaotic, where even the light is like the darkness.”
• Job 34:22There is no darkness, no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide.
• Psalms 44:19But you have crushed us in a haunt of jackals and have covered us with deepest darkness.
• Jeremiah 13:16Give glory to the Lord your God before he brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the mountains at dusk. You wait for light, but he brings darkest gloom and makes total darkness.
• Amos 5:8The one who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night, who summons the water of the sea and pours it out over the surface of the earth — the Lord is his name.

Commentaries on Matthew 4:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16The people which sat in darkness - This is quoted from Isaiah 9:2, where, instead of sitting, the prophet used the word walked. The evangelist might on purpose change the term, to point out the increased misery of the state of these persons. Sitting in darkness expresses a greater degree of intellectual blindness, than walking in darkness does. In the time of Christ's appearing, the people were in a much worse state than in the time of the prophet, which…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14-16Verses 14-16 That it might be fulfilled … - This place is recorded in Isaiah 9:1-2. Matthew has given the sense, but not the very words of the prophet. For the meaning of the passage as employed by Isaiah, see the notes at Isaiah 9:1-2. By the way of the sea - Which is near to the sea, or in the vicinity of the sea. Beyond Jordan - This does not mean to the east of Jordan, as the phrase sometimes denotes, but rather in the vicinity of the Jordan, or…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-17Verses 12-17 It is just with God to take the gospel and the means of grace, from those that slight them and thrust them away. Christ will not stay long where he is not welcome. Those who are without Christ, are in the dark. They were sitting in this condition, a contented posture; they chose it rather than light; they were willingly ignorant. When the gospel comes, light comes; when it comes to any place, when it comes to any soul, it makes day there…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-17John the Baptist and the Father announced Jesus as the Messiah (3:13–17). He then endured testing in the wilderness with obedience (4:1–11). After this, the Messiah was ready to begin his work. He first preached the message of the kingdom of God to the people of Galilee.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up--The prophetic strain to which these words belong commences with the seventh chapter of Isaiah, to which the sixth chapter is introductory, and goes down to the end of the twelfth chapter, which hymns the spirit of that whole strain of prophecy. It belongs to the reign of Ahaz and turns upon the combined efforts of the two…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 4:16

• Darkness
• Jesus, the Christ
• Light
• Prophecy
• Quotations and Allusions
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Shadow of Death
• Capernaum
• Dash
• Fame
• Light
• Naphtali, Tribe of
• Quotations
• Tempter
• Torment
• Zebulun, Lot of

Commentaries on Matthew 4

• 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