Luke 12:5

But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples directly within a broader teaching to a large crowd (Luke 12:1), pivoting from what not to fear (v. 4) to what to fear.

The words — φοβηθῆτε (phobēthēte, "fear") is repeated twice in the verse, once as the object of "whom" and once as a bare imperative ("do fear"), making the command self-reinforcing. ὑποδείξω (hupodeixō, "I will show") carries the sense of demonstrating or making plain, not merely stating.

The thread — Matthew 10:28 is the Synoptic parallel ("fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell"). 2 Peter 2:4 and Revelation 14:7 extend the theme of divine judgment beyond death.

Why it lands — It forces a single question: is the thing you most dread actually final? The verse answers yes only of God, and no of every human threat.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Cross-references

2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;
Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Revelation 14:7 And he said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the One who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and the springs of waters.”
Psalms 9:17 The wicked will return to Sheol—all the nations who forget God.
Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Proverbs 14:26 He who fears the LORD is secure in confidence, and his children shall have a place of refuge.
Jeremiah 5:22 Do you not fear Me?” declares the LORD. “Do you not tremble before Me, the One who set the sand as the boundary for the sea, an enduring barrier it cannot cross? The waves surge, but they cannot prevail. They roar but cannot cross it.
Matthew 25:41 Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
1 Thessalonians 4:6 and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.
Revelation 20:14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.