Bible Strands
John 11:10
But if anyone walks at night, he will stumble, because he has no light.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to his disciples in Bethany, using the physical contrast between daylight and darkness to frame his upcoming journey to Lazarus.
The words — The verb περιπατῆ (peripatē) means "shall walk," and προσκύπτει (proskoptei) literally denotes "he stumbles" or trips over an unseen obstacle.
The thread — The text states that walking in darkness causes stumbling due to a lack of light, which parallels the warning in Jeremiah 13:16, the spiritual contrast in 1 John 2:10, and the progressive illumination described in Proverbs 4:18.
Why it lands — The passage demands recognition that proceeding without revealed guidance guarantees failure, requiring the reader to align his steps with the light rather than venture into uncertainty.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
- 1 John 2:10 Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him.
- Jeremiah 13:16 Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains. You wait for light, but He turns it into deep gloom and thick darkness.
- Jeremiah 20:11 But the LORD is with me like a fearsome warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail. Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly put to shame, with an everlasting disgrace that will never be forgotten.
- Ecclesiastes 2:14 The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.
- Psalms 27:2 When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.