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 42:6-7

42:6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you; ³ 

I take hold of your hand.

I protect you ⁴  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ⁵ 

and a light ⁶  to the nations, ⁷ 

42:7 to open blind eyes, ⁸ 

to release prisoners ⁹  from dungeons,

those who live in darkness from prisons.

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 ¹⁰  of Israel? ¹¹ 

I will make you a light to the nations, ¹² 

so you can bring ¹³  my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”

Isaiah 60:1-3

Zion’s Future Splendor

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

The splendor ¹⁴  of the Lord shines on you!

60:2 For, look, darkness covers the earth

and deep darkness covers ¹⁵  the nations,

but the Lord shines on you;

his splendor ¹⁶  appears over you.

60:3 Nations come to your light,

kings to your bright light.

Isaiah 60:19

60:19 The sun will no longer supply light for you by day,

nor will the moon’s brightness shine on you;

the Lord will be your permanent source of light –

the splendor of your God will shine upon you. ¹⁷ 

Matthew 4:16

4:16 the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,

and on those who sit in the region and shadow of death a light has dawned.” ¹⁸ 

Acts 13:47-48

13:47 For this ¹⁹  is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have appointed ²⁰  you to be a light ²¹  for the Gentiles, to bring salvation ²²  to the ends of the earth.’” ²³  13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice ²⁴  and praise ²⁵  the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life ²⁶  believed.

Acts 28:28

28:28 “Therefore be advised ²⁷  that this salvation from God ²⁸  has been sent to the Gentiles; ²⁹  they ³⁰  will listen!”

Romans 15:8-9

15:8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised ³¹  on behalf of God’s truth to confirm the promises made to the fathers, ³²  15:9 and thus the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy. ³³  As it is written, “Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises to your name.” ³⁴ 

[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.

[42:6]  ³ tn Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2.

[42:6]  ⁴ tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצַר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצַר (yatsar, “form”).

[42:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. The precise identity of עָם (’am, “people”) is uncertain. In v. 5 עָם refers to mankind, and the following reference to “nations” also favors this. But in 49:8, where the phrase בְּרִית עָם occurs again, Israel seems to be in view.

[42:6]  ⁶ sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6.

[42:6]  ⁷ tn Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context.

[42:7]  ⁸ sn This does not refer to literal physical healing of the blind. As the next two lines suggest, this refers metonymically to freeing captives from their dark prisons where their eyes have grown unaccustomed to light.

[42:7]  ⁹ sn This does not refer to hardened, dangerous criminals, who would have been executed for their crimes in ancient Near Eastern society. This verse refers to political prisoners or victims of social injustice.

[49:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”

[49:6]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn See the note at 42:6.

[49:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”

[60:1]  ¹⁴ tn Or “glory” (so most English versions).

[60:2]  ¹⁵ tn The verb “covers” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[60:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or “glory” (so most English versions); TEV “the brightness of his presence.”

[60:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and your God for your splendor.”

[4:16]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Isa 9:1.

[13:47]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Grk “that you should be for salvation,” but more simply “to bring salvation.”

[13:47]  ²³ 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.)

[13:48]  ²⁴ tn The imperfect verb ἔχαιρον (ecairon) and the following ἐδόξαζον (edoxazon) are translated as ingressive imperfects.

[13:48]  ²⁵ tn Or “glorify.” Although “honor” is given by BDAG 258 s.v. δοξάζω as a translation, it would be misleading here, because the meaning is “to honor in the sense of attributing worth to something,” while in contemporary English usage one speaks of “honoring” a contract in the sense of keeping its stipulations. It is not a synonym for “obey” in this context (“obey the word of the Lord”), but that is how many English readers would understand it.

[13:48]  ²⁶ sn Note the contrast to v. 46 in regard to eternal life.

[28:28]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Therefore let it be known to you.”

[28:28]  ²⁸ tn Or “of God.”

[28:28]  ²⁹ sn The term Gentiles is in emphatic position in the Greek text of this clause. Once again there is the pattern: Jewish rejection of the gospel leads to an emphasis on Gentile inclusion (Acts 13:44-47).

[28:28]  ³⁰ tn Grk “they also.”

[15:8]  ³¹ tn Grk “of the circumcision”; that is, the Jews.

[15:8]  ³² tn Or “to the patriarchs.”

[15:9]  ³³ tn There are two major syntactical alternatives which are both awkward: (1) One could make “glorify” dependent on “Christ has become a minister” and coordinate with “to confirm” and the result would be rendered “Christ has become a minister of circumcision to confirm the promises…and so that the Gentiles might glorify God.” (2) One could make “glorify” dependent on “I tell you” and coordinate with “Christ has become a minister” and the result would be rendered “I tell you that Christ has become a minister of circumcision…and that the Gentiles glorify God.” The second rendering is preferred.

[15:9]  ³⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 18:49.