Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

LUKE 12:3KJV
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Luke 12:3 (KJV)

What does Luke 12:3 mean?

Luke 12:3 means that anything people say in secret or try to keep hidden will eventually be revealed and made known openly. Even private words spoken quietly or in secret places will be brought out into the open for all to hear.

In this verse, Jesus is speaking to His disciples, warning them about hypocrisy and the idea that nothing can truly be kept hidden. The setting is a conversation where Jesus is encouraging honesty and transparency, reminding His followers that God sees and knows everything, even what is done or said in secret.

The Greek behind Luke 12:3

  • The word for "closets" is ταμεῖον (tameion), which means an inner room or a private chamber. This highlights how even the most hidden places are not beyond exposure.
  • The phrase "proclaimed upon the housetops" uses the word δῶμα (dōma, here as "housetops"), which refers to the flat roofs common in that culture, where news could be broadcast publicly. This emphasizes how private matters can become very public.

Why Luke 12:3 matters

  • Luke 12:3 clears up the idea that secrecy can protect someone from accountability; it stresses that hidden actions or words will not stay hidden forever.
  • This verse connects to Jesus’ wider warning against hypocrisy in the surrounding passage, showing that God values truthfulness and openness.
  • It helps readers understand the seriousness of their words and actions, even when they think no one else is listening or watching.

Where else these words appear

“closets” Greek G5009 · used in 4 verses

  • Matthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
  • Matthew 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
  • Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?

“housetops” Greek G1430 · used in 7 verses

  • Matthew 10:27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
  • Mark 13:15 And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:
  • Luke 17:31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

“darkness” Greek G4653 · used in 12 verses

  • Matthew 10:27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
  • John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
  • 1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

“Therefore” Greek G473 · used in 20 verses

  • Matthew 2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
  • Luke 11:11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
  • Ephesians 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.