Luke 8:10

He ¹  said, “You have been given ²  the opportunity to know ³  the secrets ⁴  of the kingdom of God, ⁵  but for others they are in parables, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understand. ⁶ 

De 29:4; Ps 25:14; Isa 6:9; Isa 29:14; Isa 44:18; Jer 5:21; Mt 11:25; Mt 13:11,12; Mt 13:14-17; Mt 16:17; Mr 4:11; Lu 10:21-24; Joh 12:40; Ac 28:26,27; Ro 11:7-10; Ro 16:25; 1Co 2:7-11; 1Co 12:11; Eph 3:3-9; Col 1:26-28; Col 2:2; 1Ti 3:16; 1Pe 1:10-12

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² tn This is an example of a so-called “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

³ tn Grk “it has been given to you to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.

⁴ tn Grk “the mysteries.”

sn The key term secrets (μυστήριον, musthrion) can mean either (1) a new revelation or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation as in Dan 2:17-23, 27-30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the NT consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1-4; Heb 1:1-2). The traditional translation of this word, “mystery,” is misleading to the modern English reader because this English word suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).

⁵ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.