Bible Strands
Luke 1:79
to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Zechariah, newly restored to speech, prophesies over his newborn son John, addressing the covenant community of Israel.
The words — ἐπιφᾶναι (epiphanein) means "to shine upon," the same root behind "epiphany," carrying the sense of a visible, appearing radiance directed at a specific target.
The thread — A direct echo of Isaiah 9:2, which Matthew 4:16 reuses for Jesus' ministry in Galilee; Acts 26:18 extends the darkness-to-light movement to Paul's Gentile mission.
Why it lands — The participle καθημὲνοις ("sitting") places the reader inside the darkness as a settled condition, not a passing one, and the verse asks the reader to name that condition before accepting the light's purpose.
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
To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 9:2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
- Matthew 4:16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
- Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’
- Isaiah 42:7 to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.
- Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- John 12:46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness.
- Psalms 107:14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke away their chains.
- John 8:12 Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
- Psalms 107:10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and chains,
- John 9:5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”