The best Bible verses for darkness (ESV) include passages about God's love, strength, and guidance. This page features 15+ carefully curated Scripture passages for darkness (ESV), each selected for its relevance and depth. Read, save, and share the perfect verse for your situation.
"These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved."2 Peter 2:17
"These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved."2 Peter 2:17
"He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,"Colossians 1:13
"And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom."Deuteronomy 4:11
"And as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders."Deuteronomy 5:23
"Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness."Ecclesiastes 2:13
"The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them."Ecclesiastes 2:14
"Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger."Ecclesiastes 5:17
"So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity."Ecclesiastes 11:8
"for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light"Ephesians 5:8
"For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest"Hebrews 12:18
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!"Isaiah 5:20
"They will growl over it on that day, like the growling of the sea. And if one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress; and the light is darkened by its clouds."Isaiah 5:30
"And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness."Isaiah 8:22
Translations differ in what they optimise for. Some follow the original wording closely at the cost of a natural English sentence; others read smoothly and make interpretive choices to get there. Neither is wrong, but they produce noticeably different verses.
Each of the 15 verses below is shown in the translation you asked for, and every verse links to a page comparing all six side by side — which is usually the fastest way to see where the translators disagreed.
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The most-cited Bible verses for darkness (ESV) are 2 Peter 2:17, Colossians 1:13, Deuteronomy 4:11. This page collects 15 of them, each with its full passage, context and the text in six translations.
Read the verse in its surrounding passage before you use it — a verse that fits in isolation sometimes says something different in context. Compare two translations where the wording is unclear, and pick for the person who will read it rather than for the theme.
Scripture returns to darkness (ESV) across both testaments rather than settling it in one passage, which is why the verses on this page do not all say the same thing. Read together they give a fuller answer than any single verse does.
There is no single best translation. The NIV and NLT read most naturally and communicate well to someone outside the church; the ESV and NASB stay closer to the original wording; the KJV carries the phrasing most people recognise. Every verse here links to a page showing all six side by side.
More than any page can list. This one carries the 15 that are most often turned to for darkness (ESV), chosen so each stands on its own and links through to the full chapter it belongs to.