Translation commentary on Luke 8:17

Exegesis:

ou gar estin krupton ho ou phaneron genēsetai ‘for there is nothing hidden which shall not become manifest,’ a general saying but here referring to the secrets of the kingdom of God, ‘everything that is (now) hidden, will (in due time) become manifest.’

kruptos (also 12.2) ‘hidden,’ ‘secret,’ here used as a noun.

phaneros ‘plainly to be seen,’ ‘manifest.’

oude apokruphon ‘and (there is) nothing secret.’ The clause introduced by oude is parallel to the preceding one; this combination serves to stress the truth of both clauses.

apokruphos ‘hidden,’ ‘secret,’ synonymous with kruptos.

ho ou mē gnōsthē kai eis phaneron elthē ‘which will not be known and come to light.’ For ou mē with subjunctive cf. on 1.15. In this context, however, the negation is inverted by the negative oude in the main clause, and the clause is a strong and definite positive statement. eis phaneron elthē literally means ‘come into the manifest,’ hence ‘come to light,’ or, ‘become manifest.’

Translation:

A shift to an active form in the second person may be advisable (cf. Sranan Tongo in 12.2). To choose the right synonym in the right place is not always easy. To guide his choice the translator may assume that the first clause refers to sight, the second one to hearing, cf. e.g. ‘no hidden thing that people will not hear…’ (Sranan Tongo).

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.

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