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 happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. 13“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

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 way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.
• John 5:35John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message.
• John 12:36Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.” After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.
• Romans 2:19You are convinced that you are a guide for the blind and a light for people who are lost in darkness.
• 2 Corinthians 6:14Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?
• Ephesians 5:8For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!
• Philippians 2:15so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:5For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.
• Revelation 1:20This is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
• Revelation 2:1“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:
• Genesis 11:4Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”
• Revelation 21:14The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the 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

• 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