Matthew 10:26-27

Fear God, Not Man

10:26 “Do ¹  not be afraid of them, for nothing is hidden ²  that will not be revealed, ³  and nothing is secret that will not be made known. 10:27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what is whispered in your ear, ⁴  proclaim from the housetops. ⁵ 

[10:26]  ¹ tn Grk “Therefore do not.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

[10:26]  ² tn Or “concealed.”

[10:26]  ³ sn I.e., be revealed by God. The passive voice here and in the next verb 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.

[10:27]  ⁴ tn Grk “what you hear in the ear,” an idiom.

[10:27]  ⁵ tn The expression “proclaim 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.