the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.”
Parallel translations
- WEB the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them light has dawned.”
- 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.
- BSB 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.”
- 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.”
- NASB The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death have seen a great light. It announces that Jesus is the dawning light of salvation.
Overview
Completing the Isaiah quotation, Matthew presents Jesus as the great light breaking upon a people in spiritual darkness and under the sentence of death. The imagery captures humanity's lost condition and the hope that arrives in Christ. He is the light of the world whose coming dispels the gloom of sin and brings life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 9:2The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in the land of the shadow of death, on them the light has shined.
- Isa 42:6–7“I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations;
- Luke 1:78–79because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dawn from on high will visit us,
- Isa 60:1–3“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh’s glory has risen on you.
- Mic 7:8Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy. When I fall, I will arise. When I sit in darkness, Yahweh will be a light to me.
- Ps 107:10–14Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron,
- Luke 2:32a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.”
- Amos 5:8seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night; who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name,
- Job 34:22There is no darkness, nor thick gloom, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
- Jer 13:16Give glory to Yahweh your God, before he causes darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and, while you look for light, he turns it into the shadow of death, and makes it gross darkness.
- Job 10:22the land dark as midnight, of the shadow of death, without any order, where the light is as midnight.’”
- Job 3:5Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it for their own. Let a cloud dwell on it. Let all that makes black the day terrify it.
- Ps 44:19Though you have crushed us in the haunt of jackals, and covered us with the shadow of death.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 4:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.