Section 11:33–36
Jesus taught about light and darkness
In this section, Jesus used the metaphors of a lamp, light, darkness, eye, and body. The lamp and the light are illustrations of Jesus and his teaching. Both Jesus’ life and teaching revealed God to the people. People whose spiritual eyesight was good were able to understand and accept his message. They were like someone whose mind or body was full of light. People who rejected his message were like a person who was full of darkness.
Jesus used these metaphors to tell the people (in 11:29–32) that their spiritual eyes were diseased. They could not receive the light of his message. If they had been willing to accept his message, then their minds would have been full of light. They would not have asked for another miracle to prove that God had sent him.
Some other possible headings for this section are:
Jesus’ message is like a lamp and like light
-or-
The light of the body (Good News Translation)
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 5:15 and 6:22–23.
Paragraph 11:33–36
There are two sayings about a lamp in this paragraph: one in 11:33 and another in 11:34–36. In 11:33 Jesus compared himself and his teaching to a lamp. People put a lamp where its light will be seen. In the same way, Jesus taught in public where everyone could hear and see him.
In 11:34 the topic is different. Here a person’s eye (his attitude toward Jesus’ message) is compared to a lamp. This lamp provides him with light (spiritual illumination or understanding).
11:33
In some languages, it may be necessary to make it clear here that Jesus was still speaking. If that is true in your language, you can begin this paragraph with something like:
⌊Then Jesus said⌋…
Here Jesus used a lamp to illustrate what he and his teaching were like. In your translation, you should keep the illustration of the lamp. If the figurative meaning of the lamp is not clear, you may wish to supply the meaning in a footnote. For example:
The lamp and the light are illustrations that represent Jesus and his teaching. Both Jesus’ life and his message revealed God to the people around him. What Jesus did and taught was not hidden from people. It was done where people could see and hear him.
Jesus used the same lamp illustration in Matthew 5:15 and Luke 8:16. However, he was not necessarily using the illustration to teach the same spiritual truth in each of these three passages.
11:33a
lamp: A lamp in Jesus’ time was a small pot that people put oil in. It had a wick that they lit at night to light up their house.
You should use a word in your language for a lamp that burns oil or kerosene. If there is no general word for lamp, you may use a word that refers to a candle, a lantern, or a flaming torch.
This same word occurs in 8:16a.
a cellar: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a cellar refers to any hidden or secret place in a house where a person could put a lamp so that its light would be useless.
In some languages it will be necessary to use an active verb here. For example:
a place where no one can see it
Another way to translate this phrase is:
and then hides it (Good News Translation)
under a basket: The phrase under a basket implies that someone first turns a basket upside down and then puts it over a lamp. Another way to say this is:
covers it with a bowl
basket: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as basket probably refers to a large basket that people used to measure grain. Some other ways to translate this are:
bowl (New International Version)
-or-
clay pot (Contemporary English Version)
In your translation, you could use a term for any container that is big enough to put a lamp underneath.
11:33b
Instead: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Instead is literally “but.” Many English versions translate it that way. This conjunction shows the contrast between 11:33a and 11:33b. Show this contrast in a way that is natural in your language.
he sets it on a stand: A stand was a stone or wooden shelf where people normally put a lamp so it would give light inside the house. Some other ways to translate stand are:
a high place
-or-
lamp holder
-or-
lampstand (Good News Translation)
so those who enter can see the light: This clause explains the reason why people put lamps on stands. They put them on stands in order that the people who came into the house could see at night.
In your translation, avoid suggesting that the people came into the house in order to see the light. Rather, the phrase means that when they came in, they could see where things were, because the lamp lit up the house. Some ways to make this clear are:
so the people who come in can see (New Century Version)
-or-
to give light to all who enter the room (New Living Translation (1996))
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