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Selected Verse: Mark 4:21 - King James
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Mr 4:21 |
King James |
And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
And he said unto them, Is a candle--or "lamp"
brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?--"that they which enter in may see the light" (Luk 8:16). See on Mat 5:15, of which this is nearly a repetition. |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
Is a candle brought ... - A candle is not lit up to be put immediately under a measure or a bed, where it can give no light. Its design is to give light. So my preaching by parables is not designed to obscure the truth, but to throw light on it. You should understand those parables, and, understanding them, should impart the truth to others also, as a candle throws its beams upon a dark world.
Bushel - The word here used in the original means a measure for grain containing about 12 quarts.
Bed - A couch, either to sleep on at night or to recline on at their meals. Probably the latter is here meant, and is equivalent to our saying a candle is not brought to be put "under" the table, but "on" it. See the notes at Mat 23:6. |
| Vincent's Word Studies, by Marvin R. Vincent [1886] |
A candle (ὁ λύχνος)
Properly, the lamp, as Rev.
Brought (ἔρχεται)
Lit., cometh. Doth the lamp come ? This impersonation or investing the lamp with motion is according to Mark's lively mode of narrative, as is the throwing of the passage into the interrogative form. Compare Luk 8:16. The lamp: the article indicating a familiar household implement. So also "the bed" and "the stand."
Bushel (μόδιον)
The Latin modius. One of Mark's Latin words. See on Mat 5:15. The modius was nearer a peck than a bushel.
Bed (κλίνην)
A couch for reclining at table.
Candlestick (λυχνίαν)
Rev., correctly, stand; i.e., lampstand. See on Mat 5:15. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| And he said, Is a candle - As if he had said, I explain these things to you, I give you this light, not to conceal, but to impart it to others. And if I conceal any thing from you now, it is only that it may be more effectually manifested hereafter. Mat 5:15; Luk 8:16; Luk 11:33. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
| Is a candle - put under a bushel! - The design of my preaching is to enlighten men; my parables not being designed to hide the truth, but to make it more manifest. |
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.
6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.
33 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.
16 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.