Loading…

Matthew 4:12–16

Jesus Begins to Preach

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison,j he withdrew to Galilee.k 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum,l which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—14 to fulfillm what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles—

16 the people living in darkness

have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of the shadow of death

a light has dawned.”f n

Read more Explain verse



Matthew 4:12–16 — English Standard Version (ESV)

12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—

16 the people dwelling in darkness

have seen a great light,

and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,

on them a light has dawned.”

Matthew 4:12–16 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; 13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

Matthew 4:12–16 — New Living Translation (NLT)

12 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. 13 He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah:

15 “In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali,

beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River,

in Galilee where so many Gentiles live,

16 the people who sat in darkness

have seen a great light.

And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow,

a light has shined.”

Matthew 4:12–16 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

15 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles:

16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,

And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death

Light has dawned.”

Matthew 4:12–16 — New Century Version (NCV)

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went back to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, a town near Lake Galilee, in the area near Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 Jesus did this to bring about what the prophet Isaiah had said:

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali

along the sea,

beyond the Jordan River.

This is Galilee where the non-Jewish people live.

16 These people who live in darkness

will see a great light.

They live in a place covered with the shadows of death,

but a light will shine on them.”

Matthew 4:12–16 — American Standard Version (ASV)

12 Now when he heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali: 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

15 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

Toward the sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles,

16 The people that sat in darkness

Saw a great light,

And to them that sat in the region and shadow of death,

To them did light spring up.

Matthew 4:12–16 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

12 But having heard that John was delivered up, he departed into Galilee: 13 and having left Nazareth, he went and dwelt at Capernaum, which is on the sea-side in the borders of Zabulon and Nepthalim, 14 that that might be fulfilled which was spoken through Esaias the prophet, saying, 15 Land of Zabulon and land of Nepthalim, way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations: 16 —the people sitting in darkness has seen a great light, and to those sitting in the country and shadow of death, to them has light sprung up.

Matthew 4:12–16 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went back to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. This was in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 So what the prophet Isaiah had said came true: 

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, 

on the way to the sea, 

across the Jordan River, 

Galilee, where foreigners live! 

16 The people who lived in darkness 

have seen a bright light. 

A light has risen 

for those who live in a land overshadowed by death.” 

Matthew 4:12–16 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

12 When He heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth behind and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

15 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

along the sea road, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles!

16 The people who live in darkness

have seen a great light,

and for those living in the shadowland of death,

light has dawned.

Matthew 4:12–16 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

15 “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,

on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—

16 the people who sat in darkness

have seen a great light,

and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death

light has dawned.”

Matthew 4:12–16 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 in order that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

toward the sea, on the other side of the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles—

16 the people who sit in darkness

have seen a great light,

and the ones who sit in the land and shadow of death,

a light has dawned on them.”

Matthew 4:12–16 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

12 John had been put in prison. When Jesus heard about this, he returned to Galilee.

13 Jesus left Nazareth. He went to live in the city of Capernaum. It was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 In that way, what the prophet Isaiah had said came true. He had said,

15 “Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!

Galilee, where non-Jewish people live!

Land along the Mediterranean Sea! Territory east of the Jordan River!

16 The people who are now living in darkness

will see a great light.

They are now living in a very dark land.

But a light will shine on them.”

Matthew 4:12–16 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;

13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.

14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

15 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles

16 The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,

And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,

Upon them a Light dawned.”


A service of Logos Bible Software