The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Parallel translations
- WEB The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.
- BSB The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
- NKJV The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
- NASB The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let’s rid ourselves of the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
- NLT The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.
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
The night is nearly over and day is near; cast off works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Overview
Paul uses the imagery of night yielding to dawn to depict the believer's situation between Christ's first and second comings. The summons is to discard sinful deeds ('works of darkness') and take up the protective conduct of those who belong to the light. This is a call to active, vigilant holiness in light of Christ's nearness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Ezek 18:31–32Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
- Eph 5:11And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
- 2 Cor 6:7By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
- Col 3:8–17But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
- Eph 6:11–18Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
- Jas 1:21Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
- Rom 13:14But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
- Eph 4:22That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
- Isa 30:22Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.
- 1 Th 5:5–8Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
- John 3:19–21And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
- 1 Pet 2:1Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
- 1 Jn 2:8–9Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
- 1 Jn 1:5–7This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
- Song 2:17Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.
- Rev 1:3Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
- Job 24:14–17The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.
- Isa 2:20In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
- Rev 22:10And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 13:12 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
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