Matthew 13:11

He replied, ¹  “You have been given ²  the opportunity to know ³  the secrets ⁴  of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.

Ps 25:8,9,14; Isa 29:10; Isa 35:8; Mt 11:25,26; Mt 16:17; Mr 4:11; Lu 8:10; Lu 10:39-42; Joh 7:17; Ac 16:14; Ac 17:11,12; Ro 16:25; 1Co 2:7; 1Co 2:9,10,14; 1Co 4:1; 1Co 4:7; 1Co 13:2; 1Co 15:51; Eph 1:9,18; Eph 3:3-9; Eph 5:32; Eph 6:19; Col 1:26,27; Col 2:2; 1Ti 3:9,16; Jas 1:5,16-18; 1Jo 2:27

¹ tn Grk “And answering, he said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

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

³ tn Grk “to you it has been given 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 it suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).