hide one's light under a bushel

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• Received-Pronunciation: /ˌhaɪd wʌnz ˈlaɪt ˌʌndɚ‿ə ˈbʊʃl̩/
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• General-American: /ˌhaɪd wʌnz ˈlaɪt ˌʌndɚ‿ə ˈbʊʃ(ə)l/
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• Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -ʊʃəl
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Originally a reference to one of Jesus Christ’s parables recorded in Matthew 5:14–15, Mark 4:21–25, and Luke 8:16–18 of the Bible. For example, in the King James Version the passage from Matthew states (spelling modernized): “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill, cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel: but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.” The parable uses the imagery of a candle hidden under an overturned bushel (“a dry-measure vessel with a capacity of eight gallons”), and is interpreted as a call to Christians to set a good example through their actions that other people may come to believe in the faith.

17 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Chinese Mandarin: 深藏不露 (shēncángbùlòu) — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• Danish: sætte sit lys under en skæppe — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• Finnish: pitää kynttiläänsä vakan alla — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• French: dissimuler son talent — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• French: faire preuve de modestie — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• French: mettre son talent sous le boisseau — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• German: sein Licht unter den Scheffel stellen — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• Hungarian: véka alá rejt — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• Hungarian: véka alá rejti a tehetségét — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• Norwegian Bokmål: sette sitt lys under en skjeppe — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• Polish: chować pod korcem — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• Polish: schować pod korcem — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• Polish: trzymać pod korcem — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• Russian: зарыва́ть свой тала́нт в зе́млю (zaryvátʹ svoj talánt v zémlju) — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• Russian: зары́ть свой тала́нт в зе́млю (zarýtʹ svoj talánt v zémlju) — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• Swedish: sätta sitt ljus under skäppan — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents
• Swedish: sätta sitt ljus under ena skäppo — to conceal one’s positive qualities or talents