MAT 10:26 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 10:5–42: Jesus instructed the twelve apostles

In this section, Jesus gave various instructions to the twelve apostles. In 10:5–15, he gave them some practical instructions for preaching the good news. In 10:16–33, he described the opposition that they would see when they went out. Lastly, in 10:34–42, he described the commitment required to be a disciple and the reward for being a disciple.

You may want to break this long section into several shorter sections. Here is an example:

Section 10:5–15	The things the apostles should/must do when sent
Section 10:16–33	The difficulties the apostles will face
Section 10:34–42	The cost and reward of following Jesus

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus gave directions/instructions to the twelve apostles for preaching the gospel

The Mission of the Twelve (GNT)

Instructions for the Twelve Apostles (CEV)

10:26a

So do not be afraid of them.

¶ “So do not be afraid of those people,
¶ “Therefore, do not fear those who persecute you.

So: Verse 10:26 is the conclusion to the previous verses. The Greek introduces this conclusion with a conjunction that the BSB translates as So.

Here is another way to translate this conjunction:

Therefore

do not be afraid of them: This is a command. Jesus told his disciples not to be afraid of the people who will persecute them.

Here are some other ways to translate this command:

have no fear of them (ESV)

don’t be afraid of those who threaten you (NLT)

do not be afraid of those who persecute you

10:26b–c

For: Verse 10:26b–c gives the basis for the command in (10:26a). Jesus told his disciples not to be afraid of their persecutors, for/because God will expose what these people have said and done.

Here are some other ways to introduce this basis:

because

I say this because

Some English versions do not translate this conjunction. In some languages, it may also not be necessary to translate it.

there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known: Before translating this part of the verse, there are two issues to consider:

Issue 1: Interpretation

There are two ways to interpret this clause:

The word nothing means no sins. According to this interpretation, this part of 10:26 goes together with the preceding verses. People who persecute Jesus and his disciples make their plans in secret. Their sins are now a secret. But on judgment day, God will reveal them.
The word nothing means no part of the gospel. According to this interpretation, this part of 10:26 goes together with the following verse. There Jesus instructed his disciples to proclaim from the rooftops what he had told them in secret.

English versions are ambiguous and it is not possible to tell which interpretation they follow. If you cannot translate ambiguously, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This interpretation better fits with the way that 10:26b–c is connected with 10:26a. Jesus instructed his disciples not to fear those who persecute them, for/because one day God will reveal their sins and judge them.

Issue 2: Parallelism

Verse 10:26b–c is a Hebrew form of poetry called a parallelism. In a parallelism, an idea is repeated. Often, the idea is repeated to emphasize it. In this particular parallelism, the ideas in 10:26b are repeated in 10:26c.

The parallel parts in 10:26b–c that are similar in meaning are shown here:

^26b there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed,

^26cand nothing hidden that will not be made known

In some languages, people will think that the parallel parts in 10:26b–c describe different events. In other words, they will think that “concealed” and “hidden” describe different events, and “that will not be disclosed” and “that will not be made known” also describe different events.

If that is true in your language, you should:

Indicate that both clauses refer to the same thing. For example:
^26bnothing is concealed that will not be disclosed,
^26c I repeat, is hidden that will not be made known
Combine the parallel parts and emphasize it in some way. For example:
certainly nothing is covered/hidden that will not be made known

10:26b

For there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed,

because nothing is now covered that will not be shown/exposed,
God will show all sins that people have covered/hidden.

there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed: As mentioned above, the word nothing refers to people’s sins. These sins may be a secret today, but one day they will be shown.

This clause is passive. It also has two negatives: nothing and not. Here are some other ways to translate it:

Use a passive verb. For example:
nothing is now covered that will not be uncovered
no sin is now covered that will not be shown
Use a passive verb and no negatives. For example:
Whatever is now covered up will be uncovered (GNT)
whatever sin/behavior that is now covered will be revealed
Use an active verb with both negatives. For example:
nothing is covered that God will not reveal
no sin is now covered/hidden that God will not reveal
Use an active verb and no negatives. For example:
God will show whatever is now covered
God will expose all sin/behavior that people have covered/hidden.

10:26c

and nothing hidden that will not be made known.

and nothing is secret that will not be made known.
I repeat, every sin that people hide, God will make known.

and: In this context, the word and indicates that 10:26b and 10:26c have the same meaning.

Here are some other ways to indicate this:

Use another conjunction. For example:
or (ESV)
Introduce 10:26c with a phrase that indicates that the meaning is the same as 10:26b. For example:
I repeat
Put one clause immediately after the other with no connector or introductory phrase. For example:
Nothing has been covered that will not be exposed. Whatever is secret will be made known. (GW)

nothing hidden that will not be made known: As mentioned above, this part of the clause means the same thing as 10:26b. In Jewish culture, it was common to repeat an idea with words of similar meaning to emphasize that idea.

Some words from the previous part of the clause are implied but not repeated here. In some languages, it may be more natural to include some of those words. For example:

There is nothing hidden that will not be made known.

Like in 10:26b, the verb in 10:26c is passive. This part of the clause also has two negatives: nothing and not. Here are some other ways to translate it:

Use a passive verb. For example:
nothing is secret that will not be made known (NET)
there is no secret sin that will not be made known
Use a passive verb and no negatives. For example:
everything now hidden will be made clear (NJB)
every sin now hidden will be made known
Use an active verb with both negatives. For example:
nothing is secret that God will not make known
there is no secret sin that God will not make known
Use an active verb and no negatives. For example:
God will uncover every secret
God will make known all sin/behavior that people have hidden.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-pronouns

αὐτούς

˱of˲_them

The pronoun them refers to the people mentioned in the previous verse who called the master of the house and his household names. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea as you did in the previous verse. Alternate translation: [that kind of person] or [those enemies]

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

γάρ

for

The word for introduces a reason why the disciples should not fear them. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces a reason or basis for a claim, or you could leave for untranslated. Alternate translation: [since]

Note 3 topic: writing-proverbs

οὐδὲν & ἐστιν κεκαλυμμένον ὃ οὐκ ἀποκαλυφθήσεται, καὶ κρυπτὸν ὃ οὐ γνωσθήσεται

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: μή Οὖν φοβήθητε αὐτούς οὐδέν γάρ ἐστίν κεκαλυμμένον ὅ οὐκ ἀποκαλυφθήσεται καί κρυπτόν ὅ οὒ γνωσθήσεται)

Jesus uses or invents a proverb in order to teach that things that appear to be concealed or hidden will eventually be revealed or made known. Translate this proverb in such a way that it will be recognized as a proverb and be meaningful in your language and culture. Jesus could be applying this proverb: (1) to things that people do in secret to hurt or harm his disciples, things that will be made known to everyone. Alternate translation: [everything that people conceal will be revealed, and everything that people hide will be made known]; (2) to the gospel message, that was or is concealed but that will be made known to everyone. Alternate translation: [the message that is concealed will be revealed, and the message that is hidden will be made known]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

οὐδὲν & ἐστιν κεκαλυμμένον ὃ οὐκ ἀποκαλυφθήσεται, καὶ κρυπτὸν ὃ οὐ γνωσθήσεται

These two clauses mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could connect the clauses with a word other than and in order to show that the second phrase is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. Alternatively, you could combine the two clauses into one. Alternate translation: [there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed; yes, there is nothing hidden that will not be made known] or [there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / doublenegatives

οὐδὲν & ἐστιν κεκαλυμμένον ὃ οὐκ ἀποκαλυφθήσεται, καὶ κρυπτὸν ὃ οὐ γνωσθήσεται

If it would be clearer in your language, you could use positive expressions to translate these double negatives that consist of the negative word nothing, which is implied in the second clause, and the negative particle not. Alternate translation: [everything that is concealed will be revealed, and everything that is hidden will be made known]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

οὐδὲν & ἐστιν κεκαλυμμένον ὃ οὐκ ἀποκαλυφθήσεται, καὶ κρυπτὸν ὃ οὐ γνωσθήσεται

If your language does not use these passive forms, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who does the action, Jesus could be implying: (1) that people do the concealing and hiding and God does the revealing and making known. This fits with the view that the proverb refers to how people persecute the disciples. Alternate translation: [there is nothing that people conceal that God will not reveal, and there is nothing that people hide that God will not make known]; (2) that God does both the concealing and hiding and the revealing and making known. This fits with the view that the proverb refers to preaching the gospel. Alternate translation: [there is nothing that God has concealed that he will not reveal, and there is nothing that God has hidden that he will not make known]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear MAT 10:26

SR Greek word order

Section 10:5–42: Jesus instructed the twelve apostles

10:26a

10:26b–c

10:26b

10:26c

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)