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

14That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, 15The land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people who sat in darkness saw great light; and to them who sat in the region and shadow of death light hath shone. 17From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 18And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, 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

• peopleλαόςlaos · a peopleG2992
• whoὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• satκάθημαιkathēmai · to sitG2521
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• darknessσκότοςskotos · darknessG4655
• sawεἴδωeidō · to perceive: seeG1492
• greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• lightφῶςphōs · lightG5457
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• regionχώραchōra · countryG5561
• shadowσκιάskia · shadowG4639
• deathθάνατοςthanatos · deathG2288
• shoneἀνατέλλωanatellō · to riseG393
• shoneαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846

Cross-references for Matthew 4:16

• Psalms 107:10Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
• Isaiah 42:6I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
• Isaiah 60:1Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
• Micah 7:8Rejoice not against me, O my enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light to me.
• Luke 1:78Through the tender mercy of our God; with which the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
• Luke 2:32A light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
• Job 3:5Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
• Job 10:22A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.
• Job 34:22There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
• Psalms 44:19Though thou hast greatly broke us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.
• Jeremiah 13:16Give glory to the LORD your God, before he shall cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he shall turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.
• Amos 5:8Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face 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