Isaiah 9:2

9:2 (9:1) The people walking in darkness

see a bright light; ¹ 

light shines

on those who live in a land of deep darkness. ² 

Isaiah 42:16

42:16 I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way; ³ 

I will guide them down paths they have never traveled. ⁴ 

I will turn the darkness in front of them into light,

and level out the rough ground. ⁵ 

This is what I will do for them.

I will not abandon them.

Isaiah 60:1-2

Zion’s Future Splendor

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

The splendor ⁶  of the Lord shines on you!

60:2 For, look, darkness covers the earth

and deep darkness covers ⁷  the nations,

but the Lord shines on you;

his splendor ⁸  appears over you.

Luke 1:79

1:79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, ⁹ 

to guide our feet into the way ¹⁰  of peace.”

John 8:12

Jesus as the Light of the World

8:12 Then Jesus spoke out again, ¹¹  “I am the light of the world. ¹²  The one who follows me will never ¹³  walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Acts 26:18

26:18 to open their eyes so that they turn ¹⁴  from darkness to light and from the power ¹⁵  of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share ¹⁶  among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Acts 26:2

26:2 “Regarding all the things I have been accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa, ¹⁷  I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today,

Colossians 4:4-6

4:4 Pray that I may make it known as I should. ¹⁸  4:5 Conduct yourselves ¹⁹  with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities. 4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.

Ephesians 5:8

5:8 for you were at one time darkness, but now you are ²⁰  light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light –

Ephesians 5:14

5:14 For everything made evident is light, and for this reason it says: ²¹ 

“Awake, ²²  O sleeper! ²³ 

Rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you!” ²⁴ 

Ephesians 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be ²⁵  imitators of God as dearly loved children

Ephesians 5:5-6

5:5 For you can be confident of this one thing: ²⁶  that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Live in the Light

5:6 Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. ²⁷ 

[9:2]  ¹ sn The darkness symbolizes judgment and its effects (see 8:22); the light represents deliverance and its effects, brought about by the emergence of a conquering Davidic king (see vv. 3-6).

[9:2]  ² tn Traditionally צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet) has been interpreted as a compound noun, meaning “shadow of death” (so KJV, ASV, NIV), but usage indicates that the word, though it sometimes refers to death, means “darkness.” The term should probably be repointed as an abstract noun צַלְמוּת (tsalmut). See the note at Ps 23:4.

[42:16]  ³ tn Heb “a way they do not know” (so NASB); NRSV “a road they do not know.”

[42:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “in paths they do not know I will make them walk.”

[42:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the rough ground into a level place.”

[60:1]  ⁶ tn Or “glory” (so most English versions).

[60:2]  ⁷ tn The verb “covers” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[60:2]  ⁸ tn Or “glory” (so most English versions); TEV “the brightness of his presence.”

[1:79]  ⁹ sn On the phrases who sit in darkness…and…death see Isa 9:1-2; 42:7; 49:9-10.

[1:79]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the path.”

[8:12]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Then again Jesus spoke to them saying.”

[8:12]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn The double negative οὐ μή (ou mh) is emphatic in 1st century Hellenistic Greek.

[26:18]  ¹⁴ sn To open their eyes so that they turn… Here is Luke’s most comprehensive report of Paul’s divine calling. His role was to call humanity to change their position before God and experience God’s forgiveness as a part of God’s family. The image of turning is a key one in the NT: Luke 1:79; Rom 2:19; 13:12; 2 Cor 4:6; 6:14; Eph 5:8; Col 1:12; 1 Thess 5:5. See also Luke 1:77-79; 3:3; 24:47.

[26:18]  ¹⁵ tn BDAG 352-53 s.v. ἐξουσία 2 states, “Also of Satan’s power Ac 26:18.” It is also possible to translate this “the domain of Satan” (cf. BDAG 353 s.v. 6)

[26:18]  ¹⁶ tn Or “and an inheritance.”

[26:2]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on King Agrippa in 25:13.

[4:4]  ¹⁸ tn The phrase begins with the ἵνα (Jina) clause and is subordinate to the imperative προσκαρτερεῖτε (proskartereite) in v. 2. The reference to the idea that Paul must make it known indicates that this clause is probably best viewed as purpose and not content, like the ἵνα of v. 3. It is the second purpose stated in the context; the first is expressed through the infinitive λαλῆσαι (lalhsai) in v. 3. The term “pray” at the beginning of the sentence is intended to pick up the imperative of v. 3.

[4:5]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “walk.” The verb περιπατέω (peripatew) is a common NT idiom for one’s lifestyle, behavior, or manner of conduct (L&N 41.11).

[5:8]  ²⁰ tn The verb “you are” is implied in the Greek text, but is supplied in the English translation to make it clear.

[5:14]  ²¹ sn The following passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.

[5:14]  ²² tn Grk “Rise up.”

[5:14]  ²³ tn The articular nominative participle ὁ καθεύδων (Jo kaqeudwn) is probably functioning as a nominative for vocative. Thus, it has been translated as “O sleeper.”

[5:14]  ²⁴ sn A composite quotation, possibly from Isa 26:19, 51:17, 52:1, and 60:1.

[5:1]  ²⁵ tn Or “become.”

[5:5]  ²⁶ tn Grk “be knowing this.” See also 2 Pet 1:20 for a similar phrase: τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες (touto prwton ginwskonte").

[5:6]  ²⁷ sn The expression sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” In this context it refers to “all those who are disobedient.” Cf. Eph 2:2-3.