Luke 12:1-3
New American Standard Bible
God Knows and Cares
12 Under these circumstances, after [a]so many thousands of [b]people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “(A)Beware of the [c]leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 (B)But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3 Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have [d]whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on (C)the housetops.
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Luke 12:1-3
New English Translation
Fear God, Not People
12 Meanwhile,[a] when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus[b] began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against[c] the yeast of the Pharisees,[d] which is hypocrisy.[e] 2 Nothing is hidden[f] that will not be revealed,[g] and nothing is secret that will not be made known. 3 So then[h] whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered[i] in private rooms[j] will be proclaimed from the housetops.[k]
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- Luke 12:1 tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en hois) can be translated “meanwhile.”
- Luke 12:1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Luke 12:1 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.
- Luke 12:1 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
- Luke 12:1 sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.
- Luke 12:2 tn Or “concealed.”
- Luke 12:2 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.
- Luke 12:3 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.
- Luke 12:3 tn Grk “spoken in the ear,” an idiom. The contemporary expression is “whispered.”
- Luke 12:3 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).
- Luke 12:3 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.
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