Isaiah 49:6

49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,

to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,

and restore the remnant ¹  of Israel? ² 

I will make you a light to the nations, ³ 

so you can bring ⁴  my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”

Isaiah 51:4-5

51:4 Pay attention to me, my people!

Listen to me, my people!

For ⁵  I will issue a decree, ⁶ 

I will make my justice a light to the nations. ⁷ 

51:5 I am ready to vindicate, ⁸ 

I am ready to deliver, ⁹ 

I will establish justice among the nations. ¹⁰ 

The coastlands ¹¹  wait patiently for me;

they wait in anticipation for the revelation of my power. ¹² 

Isaiah 60:1-3

Zion’s Future Splendor

60:1 “Arise! Shine! For your light arrives!

The splendor ¹³  of the Lord shines on you!

60:2 For, look, darkness covers the earth

and deep darkness covers ¹⁴  the nations,

but the Lord shines on you;

his splendor ¹⁵  appears over you.

60:3 Nations come to your light,

kings to your bright light.

Luke 2:32

2:32 a light, ¹⁶ 

for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory ¹⁷  to your people Israel.”

John 8:12

Jesus as the Light of the World

8:12 Then Jesus spoke out again, ¹⁸  “I am the light of the world. ¹⁹  The one who follows me will never ²⁰  walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Acts 13:47

13:47 For this ²¹  is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have appointed ²²  you to be a light ²³  for the Gentiles, to bring salvation ²⁴  to the ends of the earth.’” ²⁵ 

Acts 26:23

26:23 that ²⁶  the Christ ²⁷  was to suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, to proclaim light both to our people ²⁸  and to the Gentiles.” ²⁹ 

Acts 26:1

Paul Offers His Defense

26:1 So Agrippa ³⁰  said to Paul, “You have permission ³¹  to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand ³²  and began his defense: ³³ 

Acts 2:9

2:9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia, ³⁴ 

[49:6]  ¹ tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”

[49:6]  ² sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.

[49:6]  ³ tn See the note at 42:6.

[49:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”

[51:4]  ⁵ tn Or “certainly.”

[51:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “instruction [or “a law”] will go out from me.”

[51:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and my justice for a light to the nations I will cause to rest.”

[51:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”] is near.”

[51:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “my deliverance goes forth.”

[51:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and my arms will judge [on behalf of] nations.”

[51:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “islands” (NIV); TEV “Distant lands.”

[51:5]  ¹² tn Heb “for my arm” (so NIV, NRSV).

[60:1]  ¹³ tn Or “glory” (so most English versions).

[60:2]  ¹⁴ tn The verb “covers” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[60:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “glory” (so most English versions); TEV “the brightness of his presence.”

[2:32]  ¹⁶ tn The syntax of this verse is disputed. Most read “light” and “glory” in parallelism, so Jesus is a light for revelation to the Gentiles and is glory to the people for Israel. Others see “light” (1:78-79) as a summary, while “revelation” and “glory” are parallel, so Jesus is light for all, but is revelation for the Gentiles and glory for Israel. Both readings make good sense and either could be correct, but Luke 1:78-79 and Acts 26:22-23 slightly favor this second option.

[2:32]  ¹⁷ sn In other words, Jesus is a special cause for praise and honor (“glory”) for the nation.

[8:12]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Then again Jesus spoke to them saying.”

[8:12]  ¹⁹ sn The theory proposed by F. J. A. Hort (The New Testament in the Original Greek, vol. 2, Introduction; Appendix, 87-88), that the backdrop of 8:12 is the lighting of the candelabra in the court of women, may offer a plausible setting to the proclamation by Jesus that he is the light of the world. The last time that Jesus spoke in the narrative (assuming 7:53-8:11 is not part of the original text, as the textual evidence suggests) is in 7:38, where he was speaking to a crowd of pilgrims in the temple area. This is where he is found in the present verse, and he may be addressing the crowd again. Jesus’ remark has to be seen in view of both the prologue (John 1:4, 5) and the end of the discourse with Nicodemus (John 3:19-21). The coming of Jesus into the world provokes judgment: A choosing up of sides becomes necessary. The one who comes to the light, that is, who follows Jesus, will not walk in the darkness. The one who refuses to come, will walk in the darkness. In this contrast, there are only two alternatives. So it is with a person’s decision about Jesus. Furthermore, this serves as in implicit indictment of Jesus’ opponents, who still walk in the darkness, because they refuse to come to him. This sets up the contrast in chap. 9 between the man born blind, who receives both physical and spiritual sight, and the Pharisees (John 9:13, 15, 16) who have physical sight but remain in spiritual darkness.

[8:12]  ²⁰ tn The double negative οὐ μή (ou mh) is emphatic in 1st century Hellenistic Greek.

[13:47]  ²¹ tn Here οὕτως (Joutws) is taken to refer to what follows, the content of the quotation, as given for this verse by BDAG 742 s.v. οὕτω/οὕτως 2.

[13:47]  ²² tn BDAG 1004 s.v. τίθημι 3.a has “τιθέναι τινὰ εἴς τι place/appoint someone to or for (to function as) someth….Ac 13:47.” This is a double accusative construction of object (“you”) and complement (“a light”).

[13:47]  ²³ sn Paul alludes here to the language of the Servant in Isaiah, pointing to Isa 42:6; 49:6. He and Barnabas do the work of the Servant in Isaiah.

[13:47]  ²⁴ tn Grk “that you should be for salvation,” but more simply “to bring salvation.”

[13:47]  ²⁵ sn An allusion to Isa 42:6 and 49:6. The expression the ends of the earth recalls Luke 3:6 and Acts 1:8. Paul sees himself and Barnabas as carrying out the commission of Luke 24:27. (See 2 Cor 6:2, where servant imagery also appears concerning Paul’s message.)

[26:23]  ²⁶ tn BDAG 277-78 s.v. εἰ 2 has “marker of an indirect question as content, that…Sim. also (Procop. Soph., Ep. 123 χάριν ἔχειν εἰ = that) μαρτυρόμενος…εἰ παθητὸς ὁ Χριστός testifying…that the Christ was to suffer…Ac 26:23.”

[26:23]  ²⁷ tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[26:23]  ²⁸ tn That is, to the Jewish people. Grk “the people”; the word “our” has been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[26:23]  ²⁹ sn Note how the context of Paul’s gospel message about Jesus, resurrection, and light both to Jews and to the Gentiles is rooted in the prophetic message of the OT scriptures. Paul was guilty of following God’s call and preaching the scriptural hope.

[26:1]  ³⁰ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[26:1]  ³¹ tn Grk “It is permitted for you.”

[26:1]  ³² tn Or “extended his hand” (a speaker’s gesture).

[26:1]  ³³ tn Or “and began to speak in his own defense.”

[2:9]  ³⁴ tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.