Light dawns in the darkness for the upright—for the gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
Parallel translations
- WEB Light dawns in the darkness for the upright, gracious, merciful, and righteous.
- KJV Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
- NKJV Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
- NASB Light shines in the darkness for the upright; He is gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
- NLT Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.
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
Light dawns in darkness for the upright, who are gracious, merciful, and righteous. God brings hope to the godly amid trouble.
Overview
Even in dark times the righteous experience God's light of hope and deliverance. The traits 'gracious, merciful, and righteous' are the very qualities attributed to God in Psalm 111:4, showing the godly person reflecting God's character. Christ is the true Light who shines in the darkness for His people (John 8:12).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Job 11:17Your life will be brighter than noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.
- Ps 97:11Light shines on the righteous, gladness on the upright in heart.
- Col 3:12–13Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
- Isa 58:10and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will go forth in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.
- Luke 6:36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
- 1 Jn 3:7Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.
- 1 Jn 2:29If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.
- Ps 106:1Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.
- Eph 4:32Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
- Ps 37:6He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn, your justice like the noonday sun.
- Eph 5:9for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.
- John 12:46I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness.
- Titus 2:11–12For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone.
- 2 Cor 8:8–9I am not making a demand, but I am testing the sincerity of your love in comparison to the earnestness of others.
- Mal 4:2“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.
- Isa 50:10Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His Servant? Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD; let him lean on his God.
- Eph 5:15Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
- 1 Jn 3:10By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
- Mic 7:8–9Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 112:4 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 Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.