Matius 10:25-28

10:25 It is enough for the disciple to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much more will they defame the members of his household!

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 

[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]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[10:28]  ⁷ sn Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.

[10:28]  ⁸ sn See the note on the word hell in 5:22.