¹¹ And He said to them, “To you it has been given to ^(A)know the ^[a]mystery of the kingdom of God; but to ^(B)those who are outside, all things come in parables,

¹⁴ But solid food belongs to those who are ^[a]of full age, that is, those who by reason of ^[b]use have their senses exercised ^(A)to discern both good and evil.

³⁰ So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹ And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.

³⁴ But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, ^(A)He explained all things to His disciples.

¹⁶ as also in all his ^(A)epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the ^(B)rest of the Scriptures.

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:

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. ¹⁴ And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: