Text -- Luke 12:1-4 (NET)

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 12:2 Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known. 12:3 So then whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops. 12:4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 12:1

¹ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn According to L&N 27.59, “to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on your guard against.” This is another Lukan present imperative calling for constant vigilance.

⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

⁵ sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

NET Notes: Luk 12:2

¹ tn Or “concealed.”

² sn I.e., be revealed by God. The passive voice verbs here (“be revealed,” be made known”) see the revelation as coming from God. The text is both a warning about bad things being revealed and an encouragement that good things will be made known, though the stress with the images of darkness and what is hidden in vv. 2-3 is on the attempt to conceal.

NET Notes: Luk 12:3

¹ tn Or “because.” Understanding this verse as a result of v. 2 is a slightly better reading of the context. Knowing what is coming should impact our behavior now.

² tn Grk “spoken in the ear,” an idiom. The contemporary expression is “whispered.”

³ sn The term translated private rooms refers to the inner room of a house, normally without any windows opening outside, the most private location possible (BDAG 988 s.v. ταμεῖον 2).

⁴ tn The expression “proclaimed from the housetops” is an idiom for proclaiming something publicly (L&N 7.51). Roofs of many first century Jewish houses in Judea and Galilee were flat and had access either from outside or from within the house. Something shouted from atop a house would be heard by everyone in the street below.

NET Notes: Luk 12:4

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² sn Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.