Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
Parallel translations
- WEB Light dawns in the darkness for the upright, gracious, merciful, and righteous.
- BSB Light dawns in the darkness for the upright—for the gracious, compassionate, 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 11:17And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday: thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.
- Ps 97:11Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
- Col 3:12–13Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
- Isa 58:10And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:
- Luke 6:36Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
- 1 Jn 3:7Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
- 1 Jn 2:29If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
- Ps 106:1Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
- Eph 4:32And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
- Ps 37:6And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
- Eph 5:9(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
- John 12:46I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
- Titus 2:11–12For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
- 2 Cor 8:8–9I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.
- Mal 4:2But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
- Isa 50:10Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
- Eph 5:15See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
- 1 Jn 3:10In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
- Mic 7:8–9Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.
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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.