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

12God is preparing many good things for you in heaven. So you should be very happy when people do these bad things to any of you. People did these same things to God's prophets who lived long ago.’ 13Jesus said, ‘You are like salt for all people to taste and use. Salt is good. But if it is not salty any more, you cannot make it salty again. People can no longer use it for anything. They just throw it away and they walk on it. You are like a light for everybody in this world. If people build a city on a hill, then other people can see it easily. 15Nobody lights a lamp and then puts it under a pot. He will put the lamp in a high place. Everybody who is in the house can then see the light from the lamp. 16You must be sure that your light shines well. Then you will give light to other people. They will see all the good things that you do. Then they will praise God, who is your Father 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 4:18The life of righteous people is like the sun at dawn. It gets brighter and brighter until midday.
• John 5:35John was like a light that shone brightly. For a certain time, you enjoyed the light that he gave.
• 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.
• Romans 2:19You are sure that you yourself can teach other people about God. You think that you can be like a guide to blind people. You think that you can be like a light to people who are in the dark.
• 2 Corinthians 6:14Do not become united with people who do not believe in Christ. God has made you right with himself. Right and wrong cannot work together. Light and dark cannot join together.
• Ephesians 5:8Once your minds were completely in the dark. But now you belong to the Lord. As a result, you have become full of light. So now you must live as people who belong to the light.
• Philippians 2:15Then you will not be guilty of anything that is wrong. You will be clean inside yourselves. You will be living in a completely good way, as God's children should. In this world, you are living among bad people who have turned away from what is good. But you must bring light into this dark place, like stars that shine in the night.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:5All of you are people who belong to the light and to the day. We who are believers do not belong to the night or to the dark.
• Revelation 1:20You saw seven stars that I held in my right hand. You saw seven lights in their gold lampstands. Now I will tell you what they mean. The seven stars show what the angels of the seven churches are like. The seven lights in their lampstands show what the seven churches themselves are like.’
• Revelation 2:1‘Now write this to the angel of the church at Ephesus: “This is the message to you from the one who holds the seven stars. He holds them carefully in his right hand. He walks among the seven gold lampstands.
• Genesis 11:4They said, ‘Let us build a city to live in. We should also build a very tall tower. The tower will go up into the heavens. Then we will always be famous. If we do that, we will not have to separate and go to live in different places on the earth.’
• Revelation 21:14The city's wall has a foundation of 12 strong stones. The names of the Lamb's 12 apostles were written on those 12 stones.

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