Matthew 10:26-28

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  10:28 Do ⁶  not be afraid of those who kill the body ⁷  but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ⁸ 

Matthew 10:31

10:31 So do not be afraid; ⁹  you are more valuable than many sparrows.

[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.

[10:28]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[10:28]  ⁸ sn Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.

[10:28]  ⁹ sn See the note on the word hell in 5:22.

[10:31]  ¹⁰ sn Do not be afraid. One should respect and show reverence to God, but need not fear his tender care.