EasyEnglish Bible 2018
John 1:5
5The light shines in the dark, and the dark cannot put out the light.
John 1:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
- New International Version (NIV)The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Context of John 1:5
3God made all things through the Word. God did not make anything without him. 4It is the Word who caused everything to live. Because of this, he has brought light to all people. The light shines in the dark, and the dark cannot put out the light. 6God sent a man to bring his message. His name was John. 7He came to tell people about the light. God wanted everyone to believe in the one who is the light.
Read all of John 1John 1:5 word by word
καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for John 1:5
- John 1:10The Word was now in the world. God had made the world through him. But the people in the world did not know who he was.
- John 3:19God's Son has brought light into the world. But some people did not love the light. They loved the dark instead. That was because they were doing evil things. That is why God has decided to punish those people.
- John 12:36While you still have the light with you, believe in that light. So then you will become children of light.’ When Jesus had said this, he went away. He hid himself from them.
- Job 24:13Some people refuse to live in the light. They do not understand it. They do not go along the good way that it shows to them.
- Proverbs 1:22‘Listen to me! Will you silly people continue to be so silly? You people who laugh at God, will you always be like that? Will fools always refuse to learn anything?
- Romans 1:28Those people decided that they did not need to know anything about God. So God let their minds become spoiled. As a result, they do bad things that people ought not to do.
- 1 Corinthians 2:14If someone does not believe in God, they cannot accept the message that comes from God's Spirit. They think that God's message is silly. They cannot even understand those things. Only God's Spirit can explain them to people.
Commentaries on John 1:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5And the light shineth in darkness - By darkness here may be understood: The heathen world, Ephesians 5:8. The Jewish people. The fallen spirit of man. Comprehended it not - , Prevented it not - hindered it not, says Mr. Wakefield, who adds the following judicious note: - "Even in the midst of that darkness of ignorance and idolatry which overspread the world, this light of Divine wisdom was not totally eclipsed: the Jewish nation was a lamp perpetually…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5The light shineth in darkness - Darkness, in the Bible, commonly denotes ignorance, guilt, or misery. See Isaiah 9:1-2; Matthew 4:16; Acts 26:18; Ephesians 5:8, Ephesians 5:11; Romans 13:12. It refers here to a wicked and ignorant people. When it is said that “the light shineth in darkness,” it is meant that the Lord Jesus came to teach an ignorant, benighted, and wicked world. This has always been the case. It was so when he sent his prophets; so during…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5the darkness has not overcome it: Or the darkness has not understood it; literally, the darkness cannot grasp it. The Greek word katalambanō (“grasp”) can mean either “understand” or “be hostile.” In John’s Gospel, it means "hostility." The darkness would try to destroy Jesus (the Light), but it would fail. The Light would successfully bring salvation to the world.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. shineth in darkness, &c.--in this dark, fallen world, or in mankind "sitting in darkness and the shadow of death," with no ability to find the way either of truth or of holiness. In this thick darkness, and consequent intellectual and moral obliquity, "the light of the Word" shineth--by all the rays whether of natural or revealed teaching which men (apart from the Incarnation of the Word) are favored with. the darkness comprehended it not--did not take…Read the comment
Topics related to John 1:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on John 1
- 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
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