ELL Bible Study: Luke 8:16-18 — Let Your Light Shine

This Bible study lesson is for people who are learning English (ELL or ESL students). It is made for advanced beginner and intermediate English learners. Children who speak English or adults who prefer easy English may also enjoy it and learn from it. I also have a Sunday School lesson on Luke 8:4-21 that may work better for native English speakers.

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Luke 8:16-18 Printable Discussion Questions

Lesson Icebreaker Question

When you wake up in the middle of the night, what do you use to help you see in the dark?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will learn how Jesus talks about light and how people should share God’s message. We will also learn why it is important to listen carefully to God’s words.

Vocabulary Lists

Vocabulary List Using the ERV Bible Translation

Become — To change into something new.
Bed — A piece of furniture you sleep on.
Bowl — A round, open dish used for holding food or other things.
Carefully — In a way that shows you pay close attention.
Clear — Easy to see or understand.
Come In — To enter a room or a building.
Cover — To put something over another thing to hide or protect it.
Enough — The right amount or as much as needed.
Even — A word used to show that something is surprising or more than expected.
Every — All of the items or people in a group.
Everyone — All of the people.
Everything — All the things.
Hearing — Listening to someone speak or making sense of sounds.
Hidden — Kept secret or not easy to see or understand.
Hides — Puts something in a place where it cannot be seen.
Instead — In place of something else.
Lamp — A thing that holds a light to brighten a room.
Lampstand — A tall stand or holder where a lamp is placed.
Light — What lets people see in the dark.
Lights — Turns on a lamp or makes something bright.
Lose — To no longer have something.
Made Known — To tell or show something to people so they know about it.
More — A larger amount or extra.
No One — Not one person; nobody.
People — Men, women, and children.
Put — To place something in a certain spot.
Receive — To take or accept something that is given.
Secret — Something hidden or not told to others.
See — To use your eyes to notice something.
Some — A few people or things, but not all.
Thing — An object or an idea.
Think — To have an idea or belief in your mind.
Think About — To use your mind to understand an idea.
Under — Below or beneath something else.
Understanding — The ability to know the meaning of something.
Use — To do something with a tool or an idea.

Vocabulary List Using the GNT Bible Translation

Bed — A piece of furniture you sleep on.
Bowl — A round, open dish used for holding food or other things.
Brought Out — Taken from a hidden place and shown to everyone.
Careful — Paying close attention to what you do.
Cover — To put something over another thing to hide or protect it.
Found — Discovered or seen after being hidden.
Given — Something handed or shared with someone.
Have — To own or hold something.
Hidden Away — Put in a place where no one can see it.
Lamp — A thing that holds a light to brighten a room.
Lampstand — A tall stand or holder where a lamp is placed.
Light — What lets people see in the dark.
Listen — To pay attention to sounds or words.
Little — A small amount of something.
More — A larger amount or extra.
Nothing — Not having anything at all.
Open — A place where everyone can see or go.
People — Men, women, and children.
Put — To place something in a certain spot.
See — To use your eyes to notice something.
Taken Away — Removed or taken from someone.
Think — To have an idea or belief in your mind.
Under — Below or beneath something else.

Summary of the Passage

This passage shows Jesus teaching a lesson to people around him. Jesus often used simple things from everyday life to help people understand important truths about God. In this story, he talks about a lamp.

Jesus explains that when people light a lamp, they do not hide it under a bowl or under a bed. Instead, they put it up high on a lampstand so everyone can see the light when they enter the room. Light helps people see, and it makes it easier to walk and stay safe in the dark.

Jesus also says that things people try to hide will one day be shown. Secret things will be found out. He reminds everyone to listen carefully to God’s message. Those who listen well will learn more. But those who do not listen will lose what little understanding they have.

This passage teaches us that God wants us to share his message with others like a bright light. It also reminds us to listen closely to God’s word, because it helps us live wisely and kindly in the world.

Read The Passage

Most English learners should use the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV), or the Good News Translation (GNT). If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions.

Text from the ERV Bible Translation

Use the Understanding You Have
16 “No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a bowl or hides it under a bed.
Instead, they put the lamp on a lampstand so that the people who come in will have enough light to see.
17 Everything that is hidden will become clear.
Every secret thing will be made known, and everyone will see it.
18 So think carefully about what you are hearing.
The people who have some understanding will receive more.
But those who do not have understanding will lose even what they think they have.”
Luke 8:16-18 (ERV)

Text from the GNT Bible Translation

A Lamp under a Bowl
16 “No one lights a lamp and covers it with a bowl or puts it under a bed. Instead, it is put on the lampstand, so that people will see the light as they come in.
17 “Whatever is hidden away will be brought out into the open, and whatever is covered up will be found and brought to light.
18 “Be careful, then, how you listen; because those who have something will be given more, but whoever has nothing will have taken away from them even the little they think they have.”
Luke 8:16-18 (GNT)

Very Easy: Easy-to-Read Version: Luke 8:16-18 (ERV)
Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 8:16-18 (NIRV)
Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 8:16-18 (GNT)
Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 8:16-18 (NLT)
Hard: New International Version: Luke 8:16-18 (NIV)
Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 8:16-18 (ESV)

Luke 8:16-18 Printable ERV Passage

Luke 8:16-18 Printable GNT Passage

Luke 8:16-18 Printable Discussion Questions

Comprehension Questions

What does a person do with a lamp after they light it?
Why do people put a lamp on a lampstand?
What does Jesus say will happen to secret things?
Why does Jesus tell people to be careful how they listen?
What happens to those who listen well to God’s message?
What happens to those who do not listen well?

Application Questions

Why do you think Jesus used a lamp to teach about God’s message?
How can you be like a lamp and show God’s love to others?
What helps you listen carefully to important messages?
What is something good you have learned about God that you could share with a friend?