Bible Strands
Matthew 5:14
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, bracketing this declaration between the salt image (v. 13) and the lamp image (v. 15).
The words — Ὑμεῖς (humeis) is the intensive "you yourselves," marking the statement as directed at the hearers specifically, not a general audience. φῶς (phōs) is the noun for light in its visible, illuminating sense.
The thread — In John 8:12, Jesus claims "I am the light of the world" for himself; here he assigns that role to his followers. Ephesians 5:8 and Philippians 2:15 extend the image to the broader church, calling believers to walk and shine as lights in a dark generation.
Why it lands — The verse is a declarative identity, not a suggestion: if you are light, visibility is the logical consequence, not a choice. The city-on-a-hill image makes concealment geometrically impossible, not merely imprudent.
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
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Cross-references
- Philippians 2:15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world
- 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.”
- Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- 1 Thessalonians 5:5 For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
- Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
- John 12:36 While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light.” After Jesus had spoken these things, He went away and was hidden from them.
- Romans 2:19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those in darkness,
- 2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
- John 5:35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were willing for a season to bask in his light.
- Revelation 21:14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.