5:15a

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket: In 5:14b, Jesus said that people cannot hide a city on a hill. The Greek grammar here indicates that people also do not put a lighted lamp under a basket.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket (New American Standard Bible)
-or-

And people don’t hide a light under a bowl (New Century Version)
-or-

In the same way, people do not light a lamp then cover it with a bowl

light a lamp: At that time, a lamp was a small clay container that people put oil in. It had a wick that they lit to make a light for their house at night. In your translation you should use the word for the traditional type of light that people in your area use in their homes.

oil lamps

under a basket: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as basket refers to a basket or clay pot that held approximately 8.8 liters of grain. You should use a word for a fairly large container that will not let light out.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

bowl (New International Version)
-or-
clay pot (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
gourd/calabash

In some languages, it may be natural to explicitly say why a bowl would be put over a lamp. For example:

under a bowl ⌊to hide it⌋

5:15b

Instead: There is a contrast between 5:15a and 5:15b. The contrast is between what people do not normally do in 5:15a and what they normally do in 5:15b.

Here are some other ways to introduce this contrast:

but (English Standard Version)
-or-
But rather
-or-
On the contrary

stand: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as stand was a stone, metal, or wooden shelf. People normally put a lamp in such a place so it would give more light inside the house than if it had been put on the ground.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

a high/elevated place
-or-
lamp-support
-or-
lampstand (Good News Translation)
-or-
they hang it from a nail/rafter

and it gives light to everyone in the house: This clause means that the lamp shines and this benefits all the people in the house. The houses of most people in that time had only one room. Therefore one lamp would light the entire house.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

it shines for everyone in the house (New Jerusalem Bible)

-or-

the light shines for all the people in the house (New Century Version)

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