¹⁰ When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. ¹¹ He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God^(A) has been given to you. But to those on the outside^(B) everything is said in parables ¹² so that,

¹⁰ The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

¹¹ He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven^(A) has been given to you,^(B) but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.^{(C) 13} This is why I speak to them in parables: