Tree of Life Version
Matthew 5:16
16In the same way, let your light shine before men so they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
- New International Version (NIV)In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
- English Standard Version (ESV)In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Context of Matthew 5:16
14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on a lampstand so it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men so they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” 17“Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets! I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 18Amen, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or serif shall ever pass away from the Torah until all things come to pass.
Read all of Matthew 5Matthew 5:16 word by word
οὕτως λαμψάτω τὸ φῶς ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὅπως ἴδωσιν ὑμῶν τὰ καλὰ ἔργα καὶ δοξάσωσιν τὸν πατέρα ὑμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- yourσύsu · youG4771
- lightφῶςphōs · lightG5457
- soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
- shineλάμπωlampō · to shineG2989
- beforeἔμπροσθενemprosthen · beforeG1715
- menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
- thatὅπωςhopōs · thatG3704
- they may seeὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- goodκαλόςkalos · goodG2570
- worksἔργονergon · workG2041
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- glorifyδοξάζωdoxazō · to glorifyG1392
- Fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
Cross-references for Matthew 5:16
- Proverbs 4:18The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until the full day.
- Isaiah 58:8Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will spring up speedily. Your righteousness will go before you, the glory of Adonai as your rear guard.”
- Isaiah 60:1Arise, shine, for your light has come! The glory of Adonai has risen on you.
- Romans 13:11Besides this, you know the time—that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first came to trust.
- Ephesians 5:8For once you were darkness, but now in union with the Lord you are light. Walk as children of light
- Philippians 2:15so that you might be blameless and innocent, children of God in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation. Among them you shine as lights in the world,
- 1 Thessalonians 2:12we exhorted and encouraged and urged each one of you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:6so then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain on the alert and sober-minded.
- 1 Peter 2:9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- 1 John 1:5Now this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you—that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.
- Matthew 6:1“Beware of practicing your righteousness before others to be seen by them; otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
- Matthew 23:5All their works they do to be noticed by men. They make their tefillin wide and their tzitziyot long.
- Acts 9:36In Joppa, there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translates as Dorcas). She was full of mitzvot and tzadakah, which she continually did.
- Ephesians 2:10For we are His workmanship—created in Messiah Yeshua for good deeds, which God prepared beforehand so we might walk in them.
- 1 Timothy 2:10but what is suitable for women claiming godliness, through good deeds.
- 1 Timothy 5:10well known for good deeds, if she raised children, if she showed hospitality, if she washed the feet of the kedoshim, if she helped those in trouble, and if she devoted herself to every good work.
Commentaries on Matthew 5:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Let your light so shine - Or more literally, Thus let your light shine, . As the sun is lighted up in the firmament of heaven to diffuse its light and heat freely to every inhabitant of the earth; and as the lamp is not set under the bushel, but placed upon the lamp-stand that it may give light to all in the house; Thus let every follower of Christ, and especially every preacher of the Gospel, diffuse the light of heavenly knowledge, and the warmth of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Let your light so shine - Let your holy life, your pure conversation, and your faithful instructions, be everywhere seen and known. Always, in all societies, in all business, at home and abroad, in prosperity and adversity, let it be seen that you are real Christians. That they may see your good works - The proper motive to influence us is not simply that we may be seen (compare Matthew 6:1), but it should be that our heavenly Father may be glorified…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. 16Glorify your Father in heaven: Those who pretend to be religious want people to praise them, but the disciples of Jesus should want people to praise God (see 1 Peter 2:12).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 5:16
In the dictionaries
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
Tree of Life Version — © 2015 The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Commentaries