Matthew 10:27
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27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.
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Acts 5:20
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20 “Go, stand in the temple and tell the people the whole message about this life.”(A)
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John 16:13
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13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.(A)
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John 16:1
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16 “I have said these things to you to keep you from falling away.[a](A)
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- 16.1 Or stumbling
Proverbs 1:20-23
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The Call of Wisdom
20 Wisdom cries out in the street;
in the squares she raises her voice.(A)
21 At the busiest corner she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?(B)
23 Give heed to my reproof;
I will pour out my thoughts to you;
I will make my words known to you.(C)
Acts 5:28
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28 saying, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,[a] yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.”(A)
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- 5.28 Other ancient authorities read Did we not give you strict orders not to teach in this name?
John 16:29
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29 His disciples said, “Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech!
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2 Corinthians 3:12
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12 Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with complete frankness,(A)
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John 16:25
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Peace for the Disciples
25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but will tell you plainly of the Father.
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Luke 8:10
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10 He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets[a] of the kingdom of God, but to others I speak[b] in parables, so that
‘looking they may not perceive
and hearing they may not understand.’
Matthew 13:34-35
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The Use of Parables
34 Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing.(A) 35 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:[a]
“I will open my mouth to speak in parables;
I will proclaim what has been hidden since the foundation.”[b](B)
Matthew 13:1-17
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The Parable of the Sower
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.(A) 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.(B) 9 If you have ears,[a] hear!”(C)
The Purpose of the Parables
10 Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets[b] of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.(D) 12 For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.(E) 13 The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’(F) 14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:
‘You will indeed listen but never understand,
and you will indeed look but never perceive.(G)
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes,
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart and turn—
and I would heal them.’(H)
16 “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.(I) 17 Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.(J)
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Proverbs 8:1-5
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The Gifts of Wisdom
8 Does not wisdom call
and understanding raise her voice?(A)
2 On the heights, beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
3 beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries out:(B)
4 “To you, O people, I call,
and my cry is to all who live.
5 O simple ones, learn prudence;
acquire intelligence, you who lack it.(C)
Acts 17:17
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17 So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons and also in the marketplace[a] every day with those who happened to be there.
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- 17.17 Or civic center
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.