complete verse (Luke 8:17)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 8:17:

  • Noongar: “Everything people hide will be shown and things people cover up will be brought into the light.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “Because all that is hidden must be uncovered/caused-to-appear. And all that is concealed must be opened and become visible.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “For nothing is hidden now that will not finally in the future come out and everything that is not understood now will finally be known in the future.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus said again, ‘And in the same way, whatever is hidden today will be revealed just the same in the future. And whatever of my teaching you do not understand today, you will understand it just the same in the future.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “It’s the same with what I have been parabling, because everything that is hidden or not known now, it will become-known and be-made-clear in the future (lit. addition of days).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well, there is nothing which is hidden which won’t be brought out. And whatever isn’t yet known/realized will be made known so that it’s clear/obvious.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

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.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 8:17

8:17

Like 8:16, this verse is a proverb or saying that Jesus used to illustrate his teaching. Similar words are found in Luke 12:2 and Matthew 10:26. However, the context is different in those verses, and the saying probably illustrates a different meaning.

8:17a and 8:17b express the same meaning in slightly different ways. There are basically two ways to translate this:

• Use slightly different statements that have similar meanings. You may want to make one of them more figurative than the other. For example:

There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.

There is nothing kept secret that will not come to light. (God’s Word)

• Use one statement that expresses this meaning. For example:

For all the secret things that are hidden now will be openly revealed.

8:17a

For: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For indicates that this verse explains 8:16 in some way. This verse probably implies that God does not want his truth to remain secret or hidden like a lamp under a basin or bed. The verse also applies to Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God. Someday God will reveal its meaning to people (see 8:10). Connect 8:16 and 8:17 in a way that is natural in your language.

there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hidden refers to something that is not known because it has been kept secret. This statement in this part of the verse means that everything that is secret now will someday be revealed to people. Other ways to say this are:

For nothing is hidden that will not become evident (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
For all that is secret will be disclosed

This is a passive statement. In some languages it may be necessary to express it without using a passive verb. For example:

Every secret thing will become clear

If you must use an active verb and supply a subject, it may be necessary to supply God as the subject. For example:

⌊God⌋ will someday reveal every hidden/secret thing

The text does not say what hidden things Jesus was referring to. In your translation, try to use a general term.

will not be disclosed: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as will not be disclosed is literally “will not become evident or visible.” In this context it indicates that the secret truth will become obvious so that people can know and understand it.

8:17b

nothing concealed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as concealed has almost the same meaning as the word that it translates as “hidden” in 8:17a. If there is a difference, the word here may add the idea that something is intentionally kept secret or hidden. If you must say who has concealed something, try to use a word that can refer to both God and people. For example:

nothing ⌊that anyone has⌋ concealed

that will not be made known and brought to light: The two phrases that the Berean Standard Bible connects with and have almost the same meaning. In some languages it may be more natural to use only one phrase, as some English versions do. For example:

that will not be well known (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
that will not come to light (God’s Word)

In some languages it may be necessary to say who will make it known and bring it into the open. If that is true in your language, you should supply “God.” For example:

…that ⌊God⌋ will not make known or/and bring into the open.

and: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and here introduces another way to express the same meaning. In some languages a word such as “or” may be more natural. For example:

be known or brought out into the open (New International Version)

brought to light: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as brought to light means “made clear/evident/visible.” Try to translate it with a phrase that can refer to a fact or idea as well as to a physical object.

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