Matthew 13:14 - Forerunner Commentary

Matthew 13:14

12 ^aFor 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:
^a‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not ^bperceive;

15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears ^aare hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have ^bclosed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I¹ should ^cheal them.’

16 But ^ablessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;

17 for assuredly, I say to you ^athat many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18 ^a“Therefore hear the parable of the sower:

19 When anyone hears the word ^aof the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately ^areceives it with joy;

21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when ^atribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately ^bhe stumbles.

22 Now ^ahe who received seed ^bamong the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears ^afruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;

25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.

26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.

27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’

28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’

29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.

30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but ^agather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ^a“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,

32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a ^atree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven

33 ^aAnother parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three¹ measures of meal till ^bit was all leavened.”

Prophecy and the Parables

34 ^aAll 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:
^a“I will open My mouth in parables;
^bI will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Tares Explained

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

38 ^aThe field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are ^bthe sons of the wicked one.

39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, ^athe harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.

Verse Comparison: Matthew 13:14

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American Standard Version
And unto them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand; And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive:

Amplified® Bible
In them indeed is the process of fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: You shall indeed hear {and} hear but never grasp {and} understand; and you shall indeed look {and} look but never see {and} perceive.

Contemporary English Version
So God's promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said, "These people will listen and listen, but never understand. They will look and look, but never see.

Darby English Version
and in them is filled up the prophecy of Esaias, which says, Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and beholding ye shall behold and not see;

Good News Bible
So the prophecy of Isaiah applies to them: 'This people will listen and listen, but not understand; they will look and look, but not see,

International Standard Version
"With them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says: 'You will listen and listen but never understand. You will look and look but never comprehend.

King James Version
And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

New American Standard Bible
"In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, `YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;

New International Version
In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
" 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

New King James Version
And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
" Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
"In their case the prophecy of Isaiah becomes fulfilled, which says, 'YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;

Young's Literal Translation
and fulfilled on them is the prophecy of Isaiah, that saith, With hearing ye shall hear, and ye shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and ye shall not perceive,

New English Translation
And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ‘You will listen carefully¹ yet will never understand, you will look closely² yet will never comprehend.

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