Font Size
Matthew 13:13-14
New American Standard Bible
Matthew 13:13-14
New American Standard Bible
13 Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while (A)seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And [a]in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
‘[b](B)You shall keep on listening, [c]but shall not understand;
And [d]you shall keep on looking, [e]but shall not perceive;
Footnotes
- Matthew 13:14 Lit for them
- Matthew 13:14 Lit With a hearing you shall hear; a Heb idiom
- Matthew 13:14 Lit and
- Matthew 13:14 Lit Seeing you shall see
- Matthew 13:14 Lit and
Matthew 13:13-14
New International Version
Matthew 13:13-14
New International Version
13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.(A)
14 In them is fulfilled(B) the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
Matthew 13:13-14
Contemporary English Version
Matthew 13:13-14
Contemporary English Version
13 I use stories when I speak to them because when they look, they cannot see, and when they listen, they cannot hear or understand. 14 (A) So God's promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said,
“These people will listen
and listen,
but never understand.
They will look and look,
but never see.
Matthew 13:13-15
The Message
Matthew 13:13-15
The Message
11-15 He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward a welcome awakening. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it. I don’t want Isaiah’s forecast repeated all over again:
Your ears are open but you don’t hear a thing.
Your eyes are awake but you don’t see a thing.
The people are stupid!
They stick their fingers in their ears
so they won’t have to listen;
They screw their eyes shut
so they won’t have to look,
so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face
and let me heal them.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson