The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn’t darkness. If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light.”
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Luke 11:34-36 sits inside this longer paragraph.
“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light. The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn’t darkness. If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light.”
Parallel Translations
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The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness.
Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn’t darkness.
If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light.”
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The light of thy body is the eye. Therfore when thine eye is single: then is all thy body full of light. But if thine eye be evyll: then shall thy body also be full of darknes.
Take hede therfore that the light which is in the be not darknes.
For if all thy body shalbe light havynge noo parte darke: then shall all be full of light even as when a candell doeth light the with his brightnes.
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The light of the bodie is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, then is thy whole bodie light: but if thine eye be euill, then thy bodie is darke.
Take heede therefore, that the light which is in thee, be not darkenesse.
If therefore thy whole body shall be light, hauing no part darke, then shall all be light, euen as when a candle doth light thee with the brightnesse.
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Cross-references (58)
- Matthew 6:22-23 (v34) “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is evil, your…
- Proverbs 16:25 (v35) There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
- Acts 26:18 (v34) to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins…
- Proverbs 20:27 (v36) The spirit of man is Yahweh’s lamp, searching all his innermost parts.
- 2 Peter 1:9 (v35) For he who lacks these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins.
Show all 58 cross-references
- James 3:13-17 (v35) Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom. But if you have…
- Psalms 119:18 (v34) Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of your law.
- Proverbs 4:18-19 (v36) But the path of the righteous is like the dawning light that shines more and more until the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like…
- Proverbs 6:23 (v36) For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light. Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
- Jeremiah 5:21 (v34) ‘Hear this now, foolish people without understanding, who have eyes, and don’t see, who have ears, and don’t hear:
- Romans 11:8-10 (v34) According as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, to this…
- 1 Corinthians 1:19-21 (v35) For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing.” Where is the wise?…
- 2 Corinthians 4:4 (v34) in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the…
- Isaiah 5:20-21 (v35) Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for…
- Romans 1:22 (v35) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
- 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 (v35) Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise. For…
- 2 Corinthians 4:6 (v36) seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory…
- Colossians 3:22 (v34) Servants, obey in all things those who are your masters according to the flesh, not just when they are looking, as men pleasers, but in…
- Revelation 3:17 (v35) Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing;’ and don’t know that you are the wretched one, miserable,…
- Proverbs 26:12 (v35) Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
- John 9:39-41 (v35) Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, that those who don’t see may see; and that those who see may become blind.” Those of the…
- Romans 2:19-23 (v35) and are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher…
- 2 Corinthians 11:3 (v34) But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is…
- 2 Peter 2:18 (v35) For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness, those who are indeed escaping…
- Proverbs 1:5 (v36) that the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; that the man of understanding may attain to sound counsel:
- Mark 4:12 (v34) that ‘seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest perhaps they should turn again, and their…
- Mark 8:18 (v34) Having eyes, don’t you see? Having ears, don’t you hear? Don’t you remember?
- John 7:48-49 (v35) Have any of the rulers believed in him, or of the Pharisees? But this multitude that doesn’t know the law is cursed.”
- Ephesians 1:17 (v34) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him,
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (v34) even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deception of wickedness…
- 2 Timothy 3:15-17 (v36) From infancy, you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.…
- 2 Peter 3:18 (v36) But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
- Psalms 119:97-105 (v36) How I love your law! It is my meditation all day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for your commandments are always with…
- Proverbs 2:1-11 (v36) My son, if you will receive my words, and store up my commandments within you, so as to turn your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to…
- Isaiah 44:18 (v34) They don’t know, neither do they consider: for he has shut their eyes, that they can’t see; and their hearts, that they can’t understand.
- Jeremiah 8:8-9 (v35) “ ‘How do you say, “We are wise, and Yahweh’s law is with us?” But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has made that a lie. The wise men…
- 2 Corinthians 1:12 (v34) For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of…
- Colossians 3:16 (v36) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,…
- Hebrews 5:14 (v36) But solid food is for those who are full grown, who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.
- Isaiah 8:20 (v36) Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.
- Isaiah 29:10 (v34) For Yahweh has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, the prophets; and he has covered your heads, the seers.
- Isaiah 42:16 (v36) I will bring the blind by a way that they don’t know. I will lead them in paths that they don’t know. I will make darkness light before…
- Hosea 6:3 (v36) Let’s acknowledge Yahweh. Let’s press on to know Yahweh. As surely as the sun rises, Yahweh will appear. He will come to us like the rain,…
- Matthew 13:11-12 (v36) He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them. For whoever has, to him…
- Matthew 13:52 (v36) He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who…
- Mark 4:24-25 (v36) He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and more will be given to you who…
- Acts 13:11 (v34) Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a season!” Immediately a mist and darkness fell…
- Ephesians 4:14 (v36) that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in…
- James 1:25 (v36) But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom and continues, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer of the work, this man will be…
- 2 Kings 6:15-20 (v34) When the servant of the man of God had risen early, and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was around the city. His servant…
- Psalms 81:12 (v34) So I let them go after the stubbornness of their hearts, that they might walk in their own counsels.
- Isaiah 6:10 (v34) Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears,…
- Isaiah 42:19 (v34) Who is blind, but my servant? Or who is as deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is as blind as he who is at peace, and as blind as…
- Ephesians 6:5 (v34) Servants, be obedient to those who according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to…
- Genesis 19:11 (v34) They struck the men who were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the…
- Proverbs 28:22 (v34) A stingy man hurries after riches, and doesn’t know that poverty waits for him.
- Mark 7:22 (v34) covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness.
- Acts 2:46 (v34) Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (10 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv34–36 34 The light of the body is the eye:…
34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.
Ver. 34. When thine eye is single] A single eye is that which looks on God singly, abstracted from all other things.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v34 See Poole on "Mat 6:22", See Poole on "Mat…
See Poole on "Mat 6:22", See Poole on "Mat 6:23". Our Saviour’s speech in these verses is plainly both elliptical (something being in itself to be understood) and also metaphorical. The sense is this, What the eye is to the body, that the soul, the mind and affections, are to the whole man. Now look, as the eye is the organ by which light is received to guide a man’s steps, so that if that be perfect, without any mixture of ill humours, &c., the body from it takes a full and right direction how to move and act; but if that be vitiated by ill humours, the man knows not how to direct his bodily steps: so if a man’s soul, (which answereth the bodily eye), more especially a man’s understanding or judgment, be darkened, perverted, prejudiced, or his affections be debauched or depraved, he will not know how to move one step right in his duty; but if his understanding have a right notion of truths, and he judgeth aright concerning the things and ways of God, and his affections be not depraved, then the whole man will be in a capacity to receive the light and revelations of truth, as they shall be communicated to him, even as he who hath a perfect eye receiveth and is able to make use of the bright shining of a candle.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv34–36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light,....…
If thy whole body therefore be full of light,.... That is, if the whole soul, as the Ethiopic version reads, be full of Gospel light, through the illuminating influences of the blessed Spirit accompanying the word:
having no part dark; every power and faculty of the soul being affected with it, and influenced by it, though, as yet, the light and knowledge of evangelical things is not perfect in any:
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the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light; the whole soul shall be as full of light and joy, which the Gospel always brings with it, as a room is full of light, when a candle is lighted, and shines brightly, and burns clearly in it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv34, 36 But when thine eye is evil - When thou…
But when thine eye is evil - When thou aimest at any thing else, thou wilt be full of folly, sin, and misery. On the contrary, Matt. vi, 22.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv34, 36 Verse 34. The light of the body is the…
Verse 34. The light of the body is the eye] Or, the eye is the lamp of the body. See Clarke on Mt 6:22, &c.
The 35th and 36th verses are wanting in some MSS., and are variously read in others.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv34, 36 If thy eye be single. As when the eyes…
If thy eye be single. As when the eyes of the body are pure, and free from the mixture of bad humours, the whole body is lightsome; so if the eyes of the mind, viz. reason, faith and understanding, are not infected with the pestiferous humours of envy, avarice, and other vices, the whole mind will be illuminated by the presence of the Holy Ghost. Take care, therefore, lest by giving way to these vices, the light which is in thee be turned into darkness. (Barradius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv34–36 34. The light of the body is the eye]…
34. The light of the body is the eye] Rather, The eye is the candle of the body, since the word is the same as in the last verse.
therefore when thine eye is single] The eye in this clause is the ‘inward eye’ of conscience; the ‘illuminated eye of the heart,’ Eph_1:17-18. ‘Single,’ i.e. unsophisticated; in its normal condition.
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when thine eye is evil] The ‘evil eye’ is especially one of hate, Rom_12:8; Sir_14:8-10. The inward eye should be spiritual; when it becomes carnal the man can no longer see that which is only spiritually discerned, and he takes God’s wisdom for foolishness, 1Co_2:14; 1Co_3:18-20.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv34–36 (34) The light of the body is the eye.—See…
(34) The light of the body is the eye.—See Note on Mat_6:22. In some respects the sequence of thought in St. Luke differs from that in St. Matthew, and seems somewhat closer. In the Sermon on the Mount, the company of Christ’s disciples are the light, and each of them is as the lamp on its proper stand, and the teaching as to the “light of the body,” and the corresponding “‘eye” of the soul, is separated from that illustration by our Lord’s comment on the corrupt traditional interpretations of the scribes. Here the two thoughts are brought into close proximity. The moral sense, the “vision and the faculty divine” that has its intuitions of eternal truths, this is the light which is so set that those who “are entering in” (this feature, as in Luk_8:16, is peculiar to St. Luke)—the seekers and inquirers who are drawn to look in, as it were, upon the house of Christ’s Church, the “unlearned” or “unbelievers” of 1Co_14:23—may see the light and turn to it.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv34, 36 Vers. 34, 35. The light of the body is…
Vers. 34, 35. The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. He goes on, though, with his solemn warning words. Plainly visible though the sign would be shining bright as a lighted lamp set on high still it, too, was possible to miss seeing it. If the eye, the organ of the body which perceives the light, be sound and healthy, then the illumination given by the lamp is seen, and the whole body, so to speak, is full of light; but if the eye was diseased, purblind, no bright shining light would be seen the body then would be full of darkness. The word rendered "single" denotes the eye in its natural healthy state; that translated "evil" speaks of the eye as diseased, as incapable of perceiving the rays of light. The imagery to those Orientals, accustomed to parable and allegory in the stories and poems they had listened to from their childhood, was easily translated into the language of everyday life. If they gave way to passion, jealousy, prejudice, impurity, lawlessness in its hundred forms, then for them the spiritual eye of the soul would become diseased, and therefore incapable of rightly discerning any heavenly sign. It was this danger that the Master was pointing out to the crowd. "Ah!" he seems to say, "you ask a heavenly sign which will substantiate my lofty claims; that sign, in a grander and more stately form than ever you have dreamed of, shall, indeed, be given you. Have no fear on that score; rather dread that blindness, the punishment of a hard and evil heart, will come upon you, and render you incapable of seeing the sign you ask for, and which I mean to give you." He was speaking still of his resurrection. Alas, for them! the blindness of which he warned them was the unhappy lot, we know, of very many of those listening then.
Vers. 34-36. Spiritual sight.
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"The light of the body is the eye;" i.e. the eye is the organ through which light enters so that the mind perceives; and if our eye is "single," if it is sound, and does not give a double or distorted or coloured impression, then the "whole body is full of light," then the man knows exactly what is about him and how to use his hands and direct his feet; but if the eye be diseased, if it be "evil," giving false impressions, then all is confusion in the mind, and it is as if "the whole body were full of darkness," no member of the body can take its proper part the hands do not know how to handle, nor the feet to walk. Here we have a parable, very easily understood. "The spirit of man is the candle lamp of the Lord." God has given truth to the mind as he has prepared light for the body; he has also given us a spiritual eye, an organ through which Divine truth enters the mind. We may call it mind, conscience, reason, the soul; it is of no consequence what we call it; it is that in us which distinguishes between right and wrong, righteousness and unrighteousness, truth and falsehood, nobility and baseness; it is that which gives us the place we occupy in God"s creation. If the light we receive into us is sound, pure, healthy, then our whole soul is full of light, then we "see light in God"s light." But if this inward light be confused, disordered, discoloured, our whole spirit is full of darkness;" that is to say, if our understanding be darkened, if we are habitually judging unrighteous judgment, if our conscience be condemning what is good and be approving what is evil, if our reason be misconceiving and misinterpreting, how hopeless IS our condition! When that which should lead is misleading, when that which should be guiding us into wisdom is betraying us into deadly error, when the light that is in us is darkness, "how great is that darkness"! (Mat_6:23) But if, on the other hand, our reason is directing us to right conclusions, and our conscience is "approving things that are excellent," then our whole soul is walking and rejoicing in the light of the Lord, our spirit is full of light, it is a house wherein the bright shining of the lamp of truth does give us light. What, then, brings about bad spiritual sight? What are the diseases of the inward eye?
I PREJUDICE. How that warps the judgment and blinds the eyes of men! Determined to recognize one object only, men can see no other, however it may stand before them in bold relief. It was prejudice that made the men of Christ"s time fail to perceive that the kingdom of God had come among them. His wisdom, his worth, his power, everything was distorted and misconceived by them; their inward eye was diseased, and how great was the darkness that resulted!
II PRIDE. How many men there are walking, strutting, across the stage of life, confident, complacent, contemptuous, that have been too proud to learn! Pride has bent their judgment, has affected for evil the inward eye; the truth has become distorted; there is darkness in the soul. Well does the apostle say, "If a man think himself to be wise, let him become a fool "in his own opinion, that he may be wise." Pride blocks the path, while humility opens the gates of the kingdom of truth. "The meek will he guide in judgment, the meek will he teach his way.
III SELFISHNESS. The worst of all diseases spoiling the spiritual sight. The man who lives under its evil dominion "sees double," is mentally confused, wanders in bewildering error. The slave-owner could not see the iniquity of slavery when his temporal interests covered the eyes of his mind with a thick film of falsity. Present prospects, worldly advantages, fleshly indulgences, do these not form thick scales which cover the eyes of the children of men, leaving them in the darkness of error and of sin? Who can understand his errors? Who of us can be sure that he is not allowing some folly, some unworthy habit of the body or the mind, to intervene between the pure truth of Christ and his own spiritual understanding? The thought of Jesus Christ calls upon us to be humble, vigilant, prayerful, that "the thoughts of our hearts may be cleansed by the inspiration of his Spirit," so that instead of great darkness, or even an imperfect and ineffectual light within us, the whole house of the soul may be illumined with purest heavenly wisdom, "as when the bright shining of a candle dons give us light. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v35 11:35-36 Light and darkness are metaphors for good and…
11:35-36 Light and darkness are metaphors for good and evil (John 1:5; 3:19; 8:12; 12:35; Acts 26:18; Rom 13:12; 2 Cor 4:6; 6:14; Eph 5:8; 1 Thes 5:5; 1 Pet 2:9; 1 Jn 1:5; 2:8-9).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.