For no one does anything in secret while he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, reveal yourself to the world.”
Parallel Translations
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For no one does anything in secret while he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, reveal yourself to the world.”
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For ther is no man that doeth eny thing secretly and he him selfe seketh to be knowen. Yf thou do soche thinges shewe thy selfe to the worlde.
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For there is no man that doeth any thing secretely, and hee himselfe seeketh to be famous. If thou doest these things, shewe thy selfe to the worlde.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to John 7:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- John 18:20 Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where the Jews always meet. I said nothing in secret.
- Proverbs 18:1-2 A man who isolates himself pursues selfishness, and defies all sound judgment. A fool has no delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own opinion.
- Matthew 6:5 “When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward.
- Matthew 23:5 But they do all their works to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad, enlarge the fringes of their garments,
- Luke 6:45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.
- Matthew 6:1-2 “Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Therefore when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
- 1 Kings 22:13 The messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “See now, the prophets declare good to the king with one mouth. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak good.”
- Matthew 4:6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
- Matthew 6:16 “Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
- Acts 2:4-12 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky. When this sound was heard, the multitude came together and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language. They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans? How do we hear, everyone in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!” They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 4. If thou dost these things; that is, if…
4. If thou dost these things; that is, if thou aspirest to such greatness that all may applaud thee, direct towards thee the eyes of all. And they add, show thyself to the world, using the word world, as contrasted with the small number of persons among whom he was spending his time without honor. We might also draw from it another meaning. “If thou dost these things, that is, since thou art endued with so great power as to procure reputation for thyself by miracles, do not throw them away; for all that has been given to thee by God thou spendest here to no purpose, because there are none to bear thee testimony, or to hold thee in just estimation.” Hence we perceive how great is the indolence of men in considering the works of God; for the relations of Christ would never have spoken in this manner, if they had not — as it were — trampled under foot the manifest proofs of his Divine power, which they ought to have beheld with the greatest admiration and reverence. What is here told us concerning Christ happens in daily experience, that the children of God suffer greater annoyance from their near relations than from strangers; for they are instruments of Satan which tempt, sometimes to ambition, and sometimes to avarice, those who desire to serve God purely and faithfully. But such Satans receive a vigorous repulse from Christ, who thus instructs us by his example, that we ought not to yield to the foolish wishes of brethren or relations.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 4 For there is no man that doeth any…
4 For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.
Ver. 4. For there is no man, &c.] Here they proceed to charge Christ with folly; and presume to lesson him with their
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" Vile latens vlrtus: quid enim submersa latebris
Proderit? Obscuro veluti sine remige puppis:
Vel lyra quae reticet, vel qui non tenditur arcus."
Claudian.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The things which thou doest, thou doest out of…
The things which thou doest, thou doest out of a desire by them to be made known, and to spread thy own fame and glory: for this, Galilee is not a proper place, because it is an obscure part in the country. The phrase which we translate
to be known, is in the Greek εν παρρησια ειναι. The usage of it here seemeth to be something different from the use of it in other places of holy writ. It sometimes signifies confidence and security; and we translate it boldness, Act 13:46; 26:26; 28:31; Phi 1:20; Heb 3:6; 10:19. But this cannot be the sense of this text; for it were no sense to read it, seeketh to be known boldly, confidently, or securely. Sometimes we translate it openly, as in this text, and Joh 11:54; Col 2:15. It sometimes signifieth a freedom of speech, Act 2:29; 4:13; 2Co 7:4. Sometimes it signifieth clearness and plainness of speech, Joh 10:24; Joh 11:14. Sometimes it signifieth a speaking in public meetings, as in Mar 8:32; Joh 18:20. Dr. Hammond notes, that it also sometimes signifies to speak with authority, Act 4:29,31; Eph 6:19. Certainly the word in its primary signification signifieth a freedom and boldness of speech; which freedom and boldness is necessary to him that speaketh openly, and in public meetings; and is advantaged by the authority which any man hath to speak: hence in a secondary sense it may signify both to speak with authority, and also to speak in public assemblies; and this last I take to be here signified. It is (as our Saviour’s friends tell him) both against reason, and the ordinary course of the world, for men desirous of opportunities to speak boldly and freely in public assemblies, to keep themselves in obscure places, where are no such public assemblies. They therefore advise him, that if indeed he wrought these miraculous operations, and were able to produce such effects, he would not bury up himself and his reputation in such a hole as Galilee, but show himself to the more noted and famous part of the world, which was, as to that part of the world, Jerusalem, and at the feast now, where multitudes of the people would be to celebrate the feast of tabernacles.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For there is no man that doeth anything in…
For there is no man that doeth anything in secret,.... For so they reckoned his doing miracles in such a corner of the land, and in so obscure a place as Galilee:
and he himself seeketh to be known openly; suggesting hereby, that Christ was an ambitious person, and sought popular applause, and honour and glory from men, when nothing was more foreign from him; see Joh 5:41.
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If thou do these things; for they question whether the miracles he wrought were real; and suspected that they were deceptions of the sight, and delusions; or at least they questioned their being done by him; and rather thought that they were done by diabolical influence, by Beelzebub the prince of devils: but if they were real ones, they advise him, saying,
shew thyself to the world; or do these openly, and in the presence of the great men of the world; the princes of it, the rulers of the people, the chief priests and sanhedrim; and before all the males of Israel; who at this feast would come up from all parts of the land, and are for their multitude called the world: the reason of this their advice was, that if his miracles were real, and he was the person he would be thought to be, the doing of them before such, would gain him great credit and esteem; and if not, he might be detected by such numbers, and by men of such penetration as were among them.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain For no man doth any thing - Of this…
For no man doth any thing - Of this kind, in secret; but rather desireth to be of public use. If thou really dost these things -These miracles which are reported; show thyself to the world - To all men.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. No man that doeth any thing in…
Verse 4. No man that doeth any thing in secret, c.] They took it for granted that Christ was influenced by the same spirit which themselves felt and that therefore he should use every opportunity of exhibiting himself to the public, that he might get into repute; and they hoped that a part of his honour would be reflected back upon themselves, as being his near relations. They seem to have said: "It is too little to employ thyself in working miracles in Galilee, in the country, and in small villages, among an ignorant and credulous people, from whom thou canst not get much credit: go to Jerusalem, the capital, and among the learned doctors, in the presence of the whole nation assembled at this feast, work thy miracles, and get thyself a name."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For there is no man ... - The brethren…
For there is no man ... - The brethren of Jesus supposed that he was influenced as others are. As it is a common thing among men to seek popularity, so they supposed that he would also seek it; and as a great multitude would be assembled at Jerusalem at this feast, they supposed it would be a favorable time to make himself known. What follows shows that this was said, probably, not in sincerity, but in derision; and to the other sufferings of our Lord was to be added, what is so common to Christians, derision from his relatives and friends on account of his pretensions. If our Saviour was derided, we also may expect to be by our relatives; and, having his example, we should be content to bear it.
If thou do ... - It appears from this that they did not really believe that he performed miracles; or, if they did believe it, they did not suppose that he was the Christ. Yet it seems hardly credible that they could suppose that his miracles were real, and yet not admit that he was the Messiah. Besides, there is no evidence that these relatives had been present at any of his miracles, and all that they knew of them might have been from report. See the notes at Mar 3:21. On the word brethren in Joh 7:5, see the Mat 13:55 note, and Gal 1:19 note.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4. No man—Omitting the italics, (injudiciously inserted by the…
4. No man—Omitting the italics, (injudiciously inserted by the translators,) the verse may read, No man doeth anything in secret yet seeketh to be himself known openly. That is, no man does both stay in secret and desire to be public. It is inconsistent, and contrary to common sense or ordinary human conduct.
If thou do these things—If thou proposest thyself to be a miraculous founder. There is a non-committalism in this if that leads the Evangelist to the explanation in the following verse.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. there is no man that doeth] More simply,…
4. there is no man that doeth] More simply, no man doeth.
and he himself seeketh] i.e. no one does anything in secret and is thereby personally seeking to act with openness. To conceal His miracles is to deny His Messiahship; the Messiah must accept His position.
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to be known openly] Literally, to be in openness or frankness. The word for ‘frankness’ occurs nine times in this Gospel and four times in the First Epistle; not in Matt. or Luke; only once in Mark.
If thou do these things] Feeding the 5000, and other miracles. If Thou doest such miracles at all, do them at Jerusalem at the Feast and convince the whole nation. It is assuming a false position to do such things and hide them in obscure parts of Galilee: it is claiming to be the Messiah and being afraid to shew one’s credentials. They knew probably that He had not gone up to Jerusalem for the Passover.
shew thyself] Better, manifest Thyself. See on Joh_1:31, Joh_21:1, and comp. Joh_9:3, Joh_17:6.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) For there is no man.—His course of action…
(4) For there is no man.—His course of action seems to them to contradict His personal claim. It is opposed, they think, to the common-sense conduct of mankind.
If thou do these things.—The emphasis is on these things. There is no doubt that He does them; but if the acts themselves are such as they seem to be, and establish the claim which He bases on them, they should be done in Jerusalem, not in the villages of Galilee. They are for the world, and not for the retirement of home.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself…
For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself seeketh to be known openly. Vulgate, in palam esse. Lucke translates in Latin, "idemque cupit celeber ease." The autov answers to the subject of the verb "doeth," who yet is denied to exist by the oudeiv . The en parrhsia einai says Meyer, is "to be the opposite of a shy and timid nature," which is very unmeaning. Grimm says of the phrase en parrhsia , "Is se gerendi modus quo aliquis omnibus conspicuus est," and justifies it by this passage Joh_11:54; Coss. 2:15. (cf. RAPC Wis 5:1, Tote sthsetai en parrhsia pollh o dikaiov) So Luthardt: "It denotes that which is open, in contrast to that which is concealed. Westcott settles the meaning of the word by the remark that "the phrase (ayshrpb) is commonly used by the rabbinical writers for "in public," as opposed to "in secret. The man who persists in quiet, secret ways of acting, and strenuously avoids publicity, is not the man who seeketh to be illustrious and conspicuous. The brethren see a palpable contradiction between the claims which Jesus is making and the comparative retirement to which he is confining himself. The crowds of the Galilaean lake are blank retirement when compared with the metropolis in the great climacteric festival of the year. The brethren call on Christ to solve the contradiction. It cannot be concealed that Jesus had (Luk_8:16 Luk_11:33 Luk_12:2) repeatedly said, "No man lighteth a lamp and putteth it under a bushel, but on a candlestick," etc.; and so the brothers use Christ"s words against himself. But the Lord"s idea of needful manifestation, both as to degree, time, and place, was accurately realized and represented in both narratives. If thou doest these things. The ai is simply the logical premise, without necessarily throwing doubt on the facts. It is not equal, however, to the particle epei , "since." Admitting these works to be real, and these mighty deeds to be correctly reported, there, is from the standpoint of the brethren no other course than that which they suggest: Manifest thyself to the world; i.e. "proceed to the widest arena at once;" "thou art compromising thyself by thy retirement;" "what thou art doing with one hand thou art undoing with the other." "All the Israel world from all lands is crowding to the great feast, thy disciples amongst them; make thyself known; claim the place that belongs to thee." It must be remembered that the disciples (Judas, not Iscariot, especially) said on the very night of the Passion, "How is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not unto the world?" This slight note of resemblance with the form of the present admonition of the brothers, is more coincident in the letter than the spirit, and received from the Lord a profoundly different reply. (see Joh_14:22, Joh_14:23, notes)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 4. If thou do these things. These brethren still…
4. If thou do these things. These brethren still were doubters. He differed so from their idea of the Christ that they could not understand him, and they hoped that at Jerusalem he would be made manifest. They afterwards became believers.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain kosmos = mankind. (See Scofield "Mat 4:8").
world
kosmos = mankind. (See Scofield "Mat 4:8").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.