¹⁹ It is like ^(A)a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”

^12 (A)Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. ^(B)The beasts of the field found shade under it, and ^(C)the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.

^21 (A)whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived—

⁴⁴ And in the days of those kings ^(A)the God of heaven will set up ^(B)a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. ^(C)It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and ^(D)it shall stand forever, ⁴⁵ just as ^(E)you saw that ^(F)a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that ^(G)it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A ^(H)great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

²² Thus says the Lord God: ^(A)“I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. ^(B)I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and ^(C)I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ^23 (D)On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. ^(E)And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. ²⁴ And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; ^(F)I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up ^(G)the green tree, and make ^(H)the dry tree flourish. ^(I)I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

⁴ But many of those who had heard the word believed, and ^(A)the number of the men came to about five thousand.

⁴¹ So those who received his word were baptized, and ^(A)there were added that day about three thousand souls.

³¹ It is like ^(A)a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, ³² yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

³¹ He put another parable before them, saying, ^(A)“The kingdom of heaven is like ^(B)a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³² It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”