'Light' in the Bible

In the light of the king’s face is life,And his favor is like a cloud bringing the spring rain.

The poor man and the oppressor have this in common:The Lord gives light to the eyes of both.

Then I saw that [even secular] wisdom [that brings sorrow] is better than [the pleasures of] folly and self-indulgence as light excels darkness.

All of his life he also eats in darkness [cheerlessly, without sweetness and light], with great frustration, sickness, and anger.

The light is sweet and pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.

before the sun and the light, and the moon and the stars are darkened [by impaired vision], and the clouds [of depression] return after the rain [of tears];

O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Woe (judgment is coming) to those who call evil good, and good evil;Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

And in that day they will roar against them (Judah) like the roaring of the sea.And if one looks to the land, in fact, there is darkness and distress;Even the light will be darkened by its clouds.

The people who walk in [spiritual] darknessWill see a great Light;Those who live in the dark land,The Light will shine on them.

And the Light of Israel will become a fire and His Holy One a flame,And it will burn and devour Assyria’s thorns and briars in a single day.

For the stars of heaven and their constellationsWill not flash with their light;The sun will be dark when it rises,And the moon will not shed its light.

Then the full moon will be embarrassed and the sun ashamed,For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,And His glory and brilliance will shine before His elders.

Your dead will live;Their dead bodies will rise.You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy!For your dew is a dew of [celestial] light [heavenly, supernatural],And the earth will give birth to the spirits of the dead.

The light of the full moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days [concentrated in one], in the day the Lord binds up the fracture of His people and heals the wound He has inflicted [because of their sins].

“I am the Lord, I have called You (the Messiah) in righteousness [for a righteous purpose],I will also take You by the hand and keep watch over You,And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people [Israel],As a light to the nations (Gentiles),

“I will lead the blind by a way they do not know;I will guide them in paths that they do not know.I will make darkness into light before themAnd rugged places into plains.These things I will do [for them],And I will not leave them abandoned or undone.”

The One forming light and creating darkness,Causing peace and creating disaster;I am the Lord who does all these things.

He says, “It is too trivial a thing that You should be My ServantTo raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel;I will also make You a light to the nationsThat My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Saying to those who are bound and captured, ‘Go forth,’And to those who are in [spiritual] darkness, ‘Show yourselves [come into the light of the Savior].’They will feed along the roads [on which they travel],And their pastures will be on all the bare heights.

Listen carefully, all you who kindle your own fire [devising your own man-made plan of salvation],Who surround yourselves with torches,Walk by the light of your [self-made] fireAnd among the torches that you have set ablaze.But this you will have from My hand:You will lie down in [a place of] torment.

“Listen carefully to Me [says the Lord], O My people,And hear Me, O My nation;For a [divine] law will go forth from Me,And I will quickly establish My justice as a light to the peoples.

All of us like sheep have gone astray,We have turned, each one, to his own way;But the Lord has caused the wickedness of us all [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]To fall on Him [instead of us].

“Then your light will break out like the dawn,And your healing (restoration, new life) will quickly spring forth;Your righteousness will go before you [leading you to peace and prosperity],The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

And if you offer yourself to [assist] the hungryAnd satisfy the need of the afflicted,Then your light will rise in darknessAnd your gloom will become like midday.

Therefore justice is far from us,And righteousness does not overtake us.We [expectantly] hope for light, but only see darkness;We hope for gleam of light, but we walk in darkness and gloom.

“Arise [from spiritual depression to a new life], shine [be radiant with the glory and brilliance of the Lord]; for your light has come,And the glory and brilliance of the Lord has risen upon you.

“Nations will come to your light,And kings to the brightness of your rising.

“The sun will no longer be your light by day,Nor shall the bright glow of the moon give light to you,But the Lord will be an everlasting light for you;And your God will be your glory and splendor.

“Your sun will no longer set,Nor will your moon wane;For the Lord will be your everlasting light,And the days of your mourning will be over.

“O generation [that you are], consider and regard carefully the word of the Lord.Have I been a wilderness to Israel [like a land without food],A land of thick and deep darkness [like a path without light]?Why do My people say, ‘We [have broken loose and we] are free to roam [at will];We will no longer come to You’?

I looked at the earth [in my vision], and behold, it was [as at the time of creation] formless and void;And to the heavens, and they had no light.

Give glory to the Lord your God,Before He brings darknessAnd before your feet stumbleOn the dark and shadowy mountains,And while you are longing for lightHe turns it into the shadow of death,And makes it into thick darkness.

Moreover, I will take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones [grinding meal] and the light of the lamp [to light the night].

Thus says the Lord,Who gives the sun for light by dayAnd the fixed order of the moon and of the stars for light by night,Who stirs up the sea’s roaring billows or stills the waves when they roar;The Lord of hosts is His name:

He has led me and made me walkIn darkness and not in light.

“And when I extinguish you,I will cover the heavens [of Egypt] and darken their stars;I will cover the sun with a cloudAnd the moon will not give its light.

“It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;He knows what is in the darkness,And the light dwells with Him.

Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and began writing opposite the lampstand on [a well-lit area of] the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the part of the hand that did the writing.

There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans and diviners.

I have heard of you, that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that illumination, insight, and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you.

Those who are [spiritually] wise will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead many to righteousness, [will shine] like the stars forever and ever.

Therefore, I have hewn them in pieces by [the words of] the prophets;I have slain them by the words of My mouth;My judgments [pronounced upon them by the prophets] are like the light that shines forth [obvious to all].

Woe (judgment is coming) to you who desire the day of the Lord [expecting rescue from the Gentiles]!Why would you want the day of the Lord?It is darkness (judgment) and not light [and rescue and prosperity];

Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, instead of light,Even very dark with no brightness in it?

“Though they dig into Sheol [to hide in the deepest pit],From there My hand will take them [for judgment];And though they climb up to heaven [to hide in the realm of light],From there will I bring them down [for judgment].

Woe (judgment is coming) to those who devise wickednessAnd plot evil on their beds!When morning comes, they practice evilBecause it is in the power of their hands.

Do not rejoice over me [amid my tragedies], O my enemy!Though I fall, I will rise;Though I sit in the darkness [of distress], the Lord is a light for me.

I will bear the indignation and wrath of the LordBecause I have sinned against Him,Until He pleads my case and executes judgment for me.He will bring me out to the light,And I will behold His [amazing] righteousness and His remarkable deliverance.

The sun and moon stood in their places [as before Joshua];They went away at the light of Your [swift] arrows,At the radiance and gleam of Your glittering spear.

Her prophets are reckless and treacherous men;Her priests have profaned the sanctuary;They have done violence to the law [by pretending their word is God’s word].

The Lord is righteous within her;He will do no injustice.Every morning He brings His justice to light;He does not fail.But the unjust person knows no shame.

In that day there will be no light; the glorious ones (heavenly bodies) shall be darkened.

But it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord—not day and not night, but at evening time there will be light.

“The people who were sitting (living) in [spiritual] darkness have seen a great Light,And for those who were sitting (living) in the land and shadow of [spiritual and moral] death,Upon them a Light has dawned.”

“You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;

nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven.

“The eye is the lamp of the body; so if your eye is clear [spiritually perceptive], your whole body will be full of light [benefiting from God’s precepts].

But if your eye is bad [spiritually blind], your whole body will be full of darkness [devoid of God’s precepts]. So if the [very] light inside you [your inner self, your heart, your conscience] is darkness, how great and terrible is that darkness!

What I say to you in the dark (privately), tell in the light (publicly); and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops [to many people].

For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.”

And His appearance changed dramatically in their presence; and His face shone [with heavenly glory, clear and bright] like the sun, and His clothing became as white as light.

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased and delighted! Listen to Him!”

But they paid no attention [they disregarded the invitation, treating it with contempt] and went away, one to his farm, another to his business.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not provide its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

For he had often been bound with shackles [for the feet] and with chains, and he tore apart the chains and broke the shackles into pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue and tame him.

“But in those days, after [the suffering and distress of] that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,

Because of the tender mercy of our God,With which the Sunrise (the Messiah) from on high will dawn and visit us,

To shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,To guide our feet [in a straight line] into the way of peace and serenity.”

A Light for revelation to the Gentiles [to disclose what was previously unknown],And [to bring] the praise and honor and glory of Your people Israel.”

“Now no one lights a lamp and then covers it with a container [to hide it], or puts it under a bed; instead, he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.

“No one lights a lamp and then puts it in a cellar nor under a basket [hiding the light], but [instead it is put] on the lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.

The eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is clear [spiritually perceptive, focused on God], your whole body also is full of light [benefiting from God’s precepts]. But when it is bad [spiritually blind], your body also is full of darkness [devoid of God’s word].

Be careful, therefore, that the light that is in you is not darkness.

So if your whole body is illuminated, with no dark part, it will be entirely bright [with light], as when the lamp gives you light with its bright rays.”

For that reason, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.

“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins [each one equal to a day’s wages] and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

And his master commended the unjust manager [not for his misdeeds, but] because he had acted shrewdly [by preparing for his future unemployment]; for the sons of this age [the non-believers] are shrewder in relation to their own kind [that is, to the ways of the secular world] than are the sons of light [the believers].

While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they assumed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately [as soon as He reached the city].

because the sun was obscured; and the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two [from top to bottom].

In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men.

The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].

This man came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe [in Christ, the Light] through him.

John was not the Light, but came to testify about the Light.

There it was—the true Light [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone.

This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

For every wrongdoer hates the Light, and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] activities will be exposed and condemned.

But whoever practices truth [and does what is right—morally, ethically, spiritually] comes to the Light, so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—accomplished in God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence on Him].”

John was the lamp that kept on burning and shining [to show you the way], and you were willing for a while to rejoice in his light.

Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world [giving guidance through My word and works].”

Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours [of light] in the day? Anyone who walks in the daytime does not stumble, because he sees [by] the light of this world.

But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because there is no light in him.”

So Jesus said to them, “The Light is among you [only] a little while longer. Walk while you have the Light [keep on living by it], so that darkness will not overtake you. He who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going [he is drifting aimlessly].

While you have the Light, believe and trust in the Light [have faith in it, hold on to it, rely on it], so that you may become sons of Light [being filled with Light as followers of God].”Jesus said these things, and then He left and hid Himself from them.

I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes and trusts in Me [as Savior—all those who anchor their hope in Me and rely on the truth of My message] will not continue to live in darkness.

As he traveled he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him [displaying the glory and majesty of Christ];

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared [beside him] and a light shone in the cell. The angel struck Peter’s side and awakened him, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off his hands.