Kept secret (4601) (sigao sigao from sige = silence) mean to be silent, to "hold one's peace", to keep in silence or keep secret. The idea is to say nothing, keep still, keep silent (eg, Lk 9:36) or to stop speaking (eg, Lk 18:39). In the passive voice sigao means to be kept in silence. Finally, sigao can convey idea of keeping something from becoming known, to be concealed or to be kept secret (the only NT use with this meaning being here in Ro 16:25) Sigao is in the perfect tense emphasizing the state of silence or kept in a state of silence There are 10 uses of sigao in the Septuagint (LXX) (Exod. 14:14; Ps. 32:3; 39:2; 50:21; 83:1; 107:29; Eccl. 3:7; Isa. 32:5; Lam. 3:49; Amos 6:10) and here are some representative uses... Exodus 14:14 "The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent." Psalm 32:3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. (Spurgeon's note) Sigao is used 10 in the NT... Luke 9:36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen. Luke 18:39 And those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Luke 20:26 And they were unable to catch Him in a saying in the presence of the people; and marveling at His answer, they became silent. Acts 12:17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, "Report these things to James and the brethren." And he departed and went to another place. Acts 15:12 And all the multitude kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 And after they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, "Brethren, listen to me. Romans 16:25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, 1Corinthians 14:28 but if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God....30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, let the first keep silent....34 Let the women keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but let them subject themselves, just as the Law also says. Long ages past - "in the times of the ages" Romans 16:26 but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; (NASB: Lockman) Greek: phanerothentos (AAPNSG) de nun dia te graphon prophetikon kat' epitagen tou aioniou theou eis hupakoen pisteos eis panta ta ethne gnoristhentos, (AAPNSG) Amplified: But is now disclosed and through the prophetic Scriptures is made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, [to win them] to obedience to the faith (Amplified Bible - Lockman) NLT: But now as the prophets foretold and as the eternal God has commanded, this message is made known to all Gentiles everywhere, so that they too might believe and obey him (NLT - Tyndale House) Phillips: has now been made known (in full agreement with the writings of the prophets long ago), by the command of the everlasting God to all the Gentiles, that they might turn to him in the obedience of faith (Phillips: Touchstone) Wuest: but now has been made known through prophetic writings according to the mandate of the eternal God, having been made known with a view to the obedience to the Faith among all nations (Eerdmans) Young's Literal: But now as the prophets foretold and as the eternal God has commanded, this message is made known to all Gentiles everywhere, so that they might believe and obey Christ. BUT NOW IS MANIFESTED: phanerôthentos (AAPNSG) de nun: (Ephesians 1:9; Colossians 1:26; 2Timothy 1:10; Titus 1:2,3) But now emphasizes the contrast - now there is a difference. Manifested (5319) (phaneroo from phanerós = manifest, visible, conspicuous in turn derived from phaino = give light or become visible and finally derived from the root word phos = light). Phaneroo means to make visible that which has been hidden & to cause it to be seen, uncovered, laid bare or revealed. Therefore phaneroo means more than to just appear. A person may appear in a false guise or without a disclosure of what he truly is. To be manifested is to be revealed in one's true character; this is esp meaning in [cf John 3:21, 1Cor 4:5, 2Cor 5:10, 11]. So this "mystery" is now no longer a mystery in the usual secular sense but is open for all to see, having been clearly made visible in the gospel Paul expounds in this great epistle. The mystery has been revealed and Paul uses the aorist tense to point to a definite event, specifically the first coming (or in context the manifestation or appearance) of Christ. This manifestation is clearly seen in the Gospel of God concerning His Son (Ro 1:1, 2, 3, 4-see notes Ro 1:1; 1:2; 1:3; 1:4) & has been made known to the Gentiles (Ro 1:5-note). In Creation God has manifested (phaneroo) His glory (Ro 1:19-note) but He most fully made His glory manifest in Christ -- as clearly taught in each of the following Scriptures, where each uses the same Greek verb, "phaneroo", found in this verse (Ro 3:21, John 2:11, John 17:3, see esp Col 1:26, 1Ti 3:16, 2Ti 1:10, Titus 1:3, Heb 9:26, 1Pe 1:20, 1John 1:2, 1John 3:8, 1John 4:9) AND BY THE SCRIPTURES OF THE PROPHETS: dia te graphôn prophêtikôn: (Ro 1:2; 3:21; 15:4; Acts 8:32,33, 34, 35; 10:43; 26:22,23; Galatians 3:8; Ephesians 2:20; Revelation 19:10) "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/romans_1625-27.htm#secret