Lukas 12:3

12:3 So then ¹  whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered ²  in private rooms ³  will be proclaimed from the housetops. ⁴ 

Lukas 20:47

20:47 They ⁵  devour ⁶  widows’ property, ⁷  and as a show make long prayers. They will receive a more severe punishment.”

[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.

[12:3]  ² tn Grk “spoken in the ear,” an idiom. The contemporary expression is “whispered.”

[12:3]  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).

[12:3]  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.

[20:47]  ⁵ tn Grk “who,” continuing the sentence begun in v. 46.

[20:47]  ⁶ sn How they were able to devour widows’ houses is debated. Did they seek too much for contributions, or take too high a commission for their work, or take homes after debts failed to be paid? There is too little said here to be sure.

[20:47]  ⁷ tn Grk “houses,” “households”; however, the term can have the force of “property” or “possessions” as well (O. Michel, TDNT 5:131; BDAG 695 s.v. οἶκια 1.a).