¹⁹ It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a ^[a]large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

⁴⁴ And in the days of these kings ^(A)the God of heaven will set up a kingdom ^(B)which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; ^(C)it shall ^[a]break in pieces and ^[b]consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. ^45 (D)Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”

Israel Exalted at Last^(A)

²² Thus says the Lord God: “I will take also one of the highest ^(B)branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs ^(C)a tender one, and will ^(D)plant it on a high and prominent mountain. ^23 (E)On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. ^(F)Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell. ²⁴ And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, ^(G)have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; ^(H)I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it.”

⁴ However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

⁴¹ Then those who ^[a]gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

³¹ It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; ³² but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed^(A)

³¹ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ^(B)“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, ³² which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a ^(C)tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”