# What I tell you in the darkness, say in the daylight "What I tell you at night, say in the daytime" # what you hear softly in your ear "what I whisper to you" or "what I say to you privately" # proclaim upon the housetops Housetops where Jesus lived were flat, and people far away could hear anyone speaking with a loud voice from one. Here "housetops" refers to any place where all people can hear. Alternate translation: "speak loudly in a public place"