Matthew 13:3
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3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow.
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Mark 4:2-9
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2 He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:(A) 3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on a path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”(B) 9 And he said, “If you have ears to hear, then hear!”(C)
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Luke 8:5-8
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5 “A sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed some fell on a path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Some fell on rock, and as it grew up it withered for lack of moisture. 7 Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 Some fell into good soil, and when it grew it produced a hundredfold.” As he said this, he called out, “If you have ears to hear, then hear!”(A)
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Mark 4:33
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The Use of Parables
33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it;(A)
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Mark 4:13
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13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables?
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Matthew 13:53
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53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.(A)
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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)
Mark 12:12
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12 When they realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowd. So they left him and went away.(A)
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Matthew 13:10-13
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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[a] of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.(A) 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.(B) 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.’(C)
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- 13.11 Or mysteries
2 Samuel 12:1-7
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12 1
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul;(D)
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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 15:3-7
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3 So he told them this parable: 4 “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.(A)
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Luke 12:41
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The Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave
41 Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?”
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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.’
Mark 12:1
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The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
12 Then he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went away.(A)
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Mark 3:23
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23 And he called them to him and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?(A)
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Matthew 24:32
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The Lesson of the Fig Tree
32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.
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Matthew 22:1
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The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
22 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying:
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Habakkuk 2:6
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The Woes of the Wicked
6 Shall not everyone taunt such people and, with mocking riddles, say about them,
“Alas for you who heap up what is not your own!”
How long will you load yourselves with goods taken in pledge?(A)
Micah 2:4
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4 On that day they shall take up a taunt song against you
and wail with bitter lamentation
and say, “We are utterly ruined;
the Lord[a] alters the inheritance of my people;
how he removes it from me!
Among our captors[b] he parcels out our fields.”(A)
Ezekiel 24:3-14
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3 And utter an allegory to the rebellious house and say to them: Thus says the Lord God:
Set on the pot; set it on;
pour in water also;(A)
4 put in it the pieces,
all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder;
fill it with choice cuts.
5 Take the choicest one of the flock;
pile the logs[a] under it;
boil its pieces;[b]
seethe[c] also its bones in it.
6 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Woe to the bloody city,
the pot whose crud is in it,
whose crud has not gone out of it!
Empty it piece by piece,
making no choice at all.[d](B)
7 For the blood she shed is inside it;
she placed it on a bare rock;
she did not pour it out on the ground,
to cover it with earth.(C)
8 To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance,
I have placed the blood she shed
on a bare rock,
so that it may not be covered.
9 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Woe to the bloody city!
I will even make the pile great.(D)
10 Heap up the logs; kindle the fire;
boil the meat well; boil down the broth;[e]
let the bones be burned.
11 Stand it empty upon the coals,
so that it may become hot, its copper glow,
its filth melt in it, its crud be consumed.
12 In vain I have wearied myself;[f]
its thick crud does not depart.
To the fire with its crud!
13 Yet when I cleansed you in your filthy lewdness,
you did not become clean from your filth;
you shall not again be cleansed
until I have satisfied my fury upon you.(E)
14 I the Lord have spoken; the time is coming; I will act. I will not refrain; I will not spare; I will not relent. According to your ways and your doings I will judge you, says the Lord God.(F)
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Ezekiel 20:49
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49 Then I said, “Ah Lord God! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not a maker of allegories?’ ”(A)
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Ezekiel 17:2
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2 O mortal, propound a riddle and speak an allegory to the house of Israel.(A)
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Isaiah 5:1-7
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The Song of the Unfruitful Vineyard
5 I will sing for my beloved
my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.(A)
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones
and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
he expected it to yield grapes,
but it yielded rotten grapes.(B)
3 And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
and people of Judah,
judge between me
and my vineyard.(C)
4 What more was there to do for my vineyard
that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to yield grapes,
why did it yield rotten grapes?(D)
5 And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.(E)
6 I will make it a wasteland;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns;
I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.(F)
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are his cherished garden;
he expected justice
but saw bloodshed;
righteousness
but heard a cry!(G)
Psalm 78:2
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2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,(A)
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.