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.
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.
- KJV 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.
- 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.
- 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, in which you have transgressed; and make yourself a new heart and a new spirit: for why will you die, house of Israel?
- Eph 5:11Have no fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even reprove them.
- 2 Cor 6:7in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
- Col 3:8–17but now you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth.
- Eph 6:11–18Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
- Jas 1:21Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
- Rom 13:14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.
- Eph 4:22that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man, that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit;
- Isa 30:22You shall defile the overlaying of your engraved images of silver, and the plating of your molten images of gold. You shall cast them away as an unclean thing. You shall tell it, “Go away!”
- 1 Th 5:5–8You are all children of light, and children of the day. We don’t belong to the night, nor to darkness,
- John 3:19–21This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.
- 1 Pet 2:1Putting away therefore all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speaking,
- 1 Jn 2:8–9Again, I write a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shines.
- 1 Jn 1:5–7This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
- Song 2:17Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be like a roe or a young deer on the mountains of Bether.
- Rev 1:3Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is at hand.
- Job 24:14–17The murderer rises with the light. He kills the poor and needy. In the night he is like a thief.
- Isa 2:20In that day, men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
- Rev 22:10He said to me, “Don’t seal up the words 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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