hide one's light under a bushel

== English == === Etymology === 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. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌhaɪd wʌnz ˈlaɪt ˌʌndɚ‿ə ˈbʊʃl̩/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˌhaɪd wʌnz ˈlaɪt ˌʌndɚ‿ə ˈbʊʃ(ə)l/ Rhymes: -ʊʃəl Hyphenation: hide one's light un‧der a bush‧el === Verb === hide one's light under a bushel (third-person singular simple present hides one's light under a bushel, present participle hiding one's light under a bushel, simple past hid one's light under a bushel, past participle hidden one's light under a bushel) (idiomatic) To conceal one's positive qualities or talents, especially due to modesty or shyness; to avoid attention. ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === lamp under a bushel on Wikipedia.Wikipedia “bushel, n.1”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2021. George B. Bryan; Wolfgang Mieder (2005), “don’t hide your light under a bushel”, in A Dictionary of Anglo-American Proverbs & Proverbial Phrases Found in Literary Sources of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, New York, N.Y.: Peter Lang Publishing, →ISBN, page 465.