12:5a

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But introduces a contrast. In 12:4, Jesus told his disciples whom they should not fear. In 12:5, Jesus told them whom they should fear. Some English versions do not use an explicit conjunction to express this contrast. Express the contrast in a natural way in your language.

I will show you whom you should fear: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as show here means “tell” or “make known.” It does not mean that Jesus would enable the disciples to see God visibly on earth. To make the contrast with 12:4a clear, you may wish to use a verb such as “tell” here, as well. For example:

I will tell you whom you should ⌊really⌋ fear.

The phrase I will show you emphasizes what follows. In some languages it may be more effective to express the contrast with 12:4a without repeating a clause such as “I will show/tell you.” For example:

God is the one you must fear. (Contemporary English Version)

12:5b

Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell: Jesus was talking here about God. Only God has the power and the authority to condemn a person to hell after ending his physical life on the earth. If your readers would not understand that this refers to God, it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. (New Living Translation (2004))

has authority to throw you into hell: In Greek, this phrase is more literally “has authority to throw into Gehenna.” This phrase refers to God’s power/authority to punish people who deserve to be punished. The Berean Standard Bible supplies the word you as the object here. However, Jesus was referring in general to anyone who deserved to be punished. He was not referring specifically to his disciples.

In some languages it may be better to use a general expression as the object. This will clarify that Jesus was not talking specifically about the disciples. For example:

he has the power to end a person’s life and then to throw that person into hell

hell: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hell is literally “Gehenna,” the Hebrew name for the Valley of Hinnom. This was a valley south of Jerusalem where people threw the dead bodies of criminals and where garbage was dumped. Fires were always burning there. Jewish people used it as a symbolic name for the place where God will punish wicked people after they die. See hell, sense B, in Key Biblical Terms.

12:5c

Yes, I tell you, fear Him!: Here Jesus repeated what he had already said in 12:5b in order to emphasize how important this message was. Consider how to do this in your language without sounding redundant. Some ways to do this in English are:

Believe me, he is the one you must fear! (Good News Translation)
-or-
God is certainly the one you should fear! (Contemporary English Version)

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