Matthew 5:16 (YLT)

Passage

so let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father who <FI>is<Fi> in the heavens.

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:14 `Ye are the light of the world, a city set upon a mount is not able to be hid;

Matthew 5:15 nor do they light a lamp, and put it under the measure, but on the lamp-stand, and it shineth to all those in the house;

Matthew 5:16 so let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father who <FI>is<Fi> in the heavens.

Matthew 5:17 `Do not suppose that I came to throw down the law or the prophets--I did not come to throw down, but to fulfil;

Matthew 5:18 for, verily I say to you, till that the heaven and the earth may pass away, one iota or one tittle may not pass away from the law, till that all may come to pass.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "good works", "shine", "before", "glorify", "father", and "heavens". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "good works", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "nor do they light a lamp and..." into verse 17's "Do not suppose that I came to...", so "light" and "good works" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "light" and "good works" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.