Matthew 13:3
New King James Version
3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: (A)“Behold, a sower went out to sow.
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Mark 4:2-9
New King James Version
2 Then He taught them many things by parables, (A)and said to them in His teaching:
3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds [a]of the air came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no [b]crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
9 And He said [c]to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
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Mark 4:13
New King James Version
The Parable of the Sower Explained(A)
13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
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Luke 8:5-8
New King James Version
5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded [a]a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, (A)“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
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- Luke 8:8 Lit. fruit
Mark 4:33
New King James Version
Jesus’ Use of Parables
33 (A)And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.
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Matthew 13:53
New King James Version
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth(A)
53 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.
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Matthew 13:34-35
New King James Version
Prophecy and the Parables
34 (A)All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
(B)“I will open My mouth in parables;
(C)I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”
Matthew 13:10-13
New King James Version
The Purpose of Parables(A)
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11 He answered and said to them, “Because (B)it has been given to you to know the [a]mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 (C)For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
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- Matthew 13:11 secret or hidden truths
Ezekiel 24:3-14
New King James Version
3 (A)And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
(B)“Put on a pot, set it on,
And also pour water into it.
4 Gather pieces of meat in it,
Every good piece,
The thigh and the shoulder.
Fill it with choice [a]cuts;
5 Take the choice of the flock.
Also pile fuel bones under it,
Make it boil well,
And let the cuts simmer in it.”
6 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Woe to (C)the bloody city,
To the pot whose scum is in it,
And whose scum is not gone from it!
Bring it out piece by piece,
On which no (D)lot has fallen.
7 For her blood is in her midst;
She set it on top of a rock;
(E)She did not pour it on the ground,
To cover it with dust.
8 That it may raise up fury and take vengeance,
(F)I have set her blood on top of a rock,
That it may not be covered.”
9 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:
(G)“Woe to the bloody city!
I too will make the pyre great.
10 Heap on the wood,
Kindle the fire;
Cook the meat well,
Mix in the spices,
And let the [b]cuts be burned up.
11 “Then set the pot empty on the coals,
That it may become hot and its bronze may burn,
That (H)its filthiness may be melted in it,
That its scum may be consumed.
12 She has [c]grown weary with [d]lies,
And her great scum has not gone from her.
Let her scum be in the fire!
13 In your (I)filthiness is lewdness.
Because I have cleansed you, and you were not cleansed,
You will (J)not be cleansed of your filthiness anymore,
(K)Till I have caused My fury to rest upon you.
14 (L)I, the Lord, have spoken it;
(M)It shall come to pass, and I will do it;
I will not hold back,
(N)Nor will I spare,
Nor will I relent;
According to your ways
And according to your deeds
[e]They will judge you,”
Says the Lord God.’ ”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 24:4 Lit. bones
- Ezekiel 24:10 Lit. bones
- Ezekiel 24:12 Or wearied Me
- Ezekiel 24:12 Or toil
- Ezekiel 24:14 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. I
2 Samuel 12:1-7
New King James Version
Nathan’s Parable and David’s Confession
12 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And (A)he came to him, and (B)said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this [a]shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore (C)fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I (D)anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
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- 2 Samuel 12:5 deserves to die, lit. is a son of death
Mark 12:12
New King James Version
12 (A)And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.
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Psalm 78:2
New King James Version
Footnotes
- Psalm 78:2 obscure sayings or riddles
Psalm 49:4
New King James Version
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will disclose my [a]dark saying on the harp.
Footnotes
- Psalm 49:4 riddle
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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