Matthew 13:31
New International Version
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.

New Living Translation
Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field.

English Standard Version
He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

Berean Standard Bible
He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field.

Berean Literal Bible
He put before them another parable, saying: "The kingdom of the heavens is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man having taken, sowed in his field,

King James Bible
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

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

New American Standard Bible
He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field;

NASB 1995
He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;

NASB 1977
He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;

Legacy Standard Bible
He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;

Amplified Bible
He gave them another parable [to consider], saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;

Christian Standard Bible
He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

American Standard Version
Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
He told another parable to them and said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a grain of mustard seed which a man had taken and sown in his field.

Contemporary English Version
Jesus told them another story: The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a farmer plants a mustard seed in a field.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Another parable he proposed unto them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.

English Revised Version
Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Jesus used another illustration. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone planted in a field.

Good News Translation
Jesus told them another parable: "The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man takes a mustard seed and sows it in his field.

International Standard Version
He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom from heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field.

Literal Standard Version
Another allegory He set before them, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens is like to a grain of mustard, which a man having taken, sowed in his field,

Majority Standard Bible
He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field.

New American Bible
He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field.

NET Bible
He gave them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

New Revised Standard Version
He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field;

New Heart English Bible
He set another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field;

Webster's Bible Translation
Another parable he proposed to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard-seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

Weymouth New Testament
Another parable He put before them. "The Kingdom of the Heavens," He said, "is like a mustard-seed, which a man takes and sows in his ground.

World English Bible
He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took, and sowed in his field,

Young's Literal Translation
Another simile he set before them, saying: 'The reign of the heavens is like to a grain of mustard, which a man having taken, did sow in his field,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’ ” 31He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field. 32Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”…

Cross References
Matthew 13:24
Jesus put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

Matthew 17:20
"Because you have so little faith," He answered. "For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Mark 4:30
Then He asked, "To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we present it?

Luke 13:18
Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?

Luke 13:19
It is like a mustard seed that a man tossed into his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."

Luke 17:6
And the Lord answered, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.


Treasury of Scripture

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

put.

Matthew 13:24
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

Luke 19:11
And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.

Luke 20:9
Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time.

The kingdom.

Mark 4:30-32
And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? …

Luke 13:18,19
Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? …

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Matthew 13
1. The parable of the sower and the seed;
18. the explanation of it.
24. The parable of the weeds;
31. of the mustard seed;
33. of the leaven;
36. explanation of the parable of the weeds.
44. The parable of the hidden treasure;
45. of the pearl;
47. of the drag net cast into the sea.
53. Jesus is a prophet without honor in his own country.














(31) The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed.--The two parables that follow are left without an explanation, as though to train the disciples in the art of interpreting for themselves. And, so far as we can judge, they seem to have been equal to the task. They ask for the meaning of the Tares, but we read of no question about these.

It is scarcely necessary to discuss at any length the botany of the parable. What we call mustard (Sinapis nigra) does not grow in the East, any more than with us, into anything that can be called a tree. Probably, however, the name was used widely for any plant that had the pungent flavour of mustard, and botanists have suggested the Salvadora persica as answering to the description. (See Bible Educator, I. 119.)

The interpretation of the parable lies almost on the surface. Here again the sower is the Son of Man; but the seed in this case is not so much the "word," as the Christian society, the Church, which forms, so to speak, the firstfruits of the word. As it then was, even as it was on the day of Pentecost, it was smaller than any sect or party in Palestine or Greece or Italy. It was sown in God's field of the world, but it was to grow till it became greater than any sect or school, a tree among the trees of the forest, a kingdom among other kingdoms (comp. the imagery of Ezekiel 31:3; Daniel 4:10), a great organised society; and the "birds of the air" (no longer, as before, the emblems of evil)--i.e., the systems of thought, institutions, and the like, of other races--were to find refuge under its protection. History has witnessed many fulfilments of the prophecy implied in the parable, and those who believe that the life of Christendom is an abiding life will look for yet more.

Verses 31, 32. - The parable of the mustard seed. Parallel passages: Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18, 19. The central thought of the parable is the growth of the kingdom of heaven considered externally. Although it has small beginnings, it is to have a marvellous expansion, so that even those who naturally are outside it are glad to avail themselves of its protection. Observe that we have no right to limit its growth either to the reputation of its principles alone or to the power of its organization; both are included. Regarded as a prophecy, the parable is partially fulfilled every time that a heathen nation places itself under the protection of a Christian nation, and more truly fulfilled whenever a nation accepts Christianity as its own religion. It is parodied when a nation or a collection of nations submits its political freedom to the dictates of claimants to spiritual superiority, whether these claim to have received such superiority as an inheritance from the past, or to have acquired it in the present. Verse 31. - Another parable put he forth unto them (ver. 24, note), saying, The kingdom of heaven is like unto (ver. 24, note; also Matthew 11:16, note) a grain of mustard seed. "The Common Mustard of Palestine is Sinapis nigra, of the order Cruciferae, the Black Mustard, which is found abundantly in a wild state, and is also cultivated in the gardens for its seed. It is the same as our own Mustard, but grows especially in the richer soils of the Jordan valley to a much greater size than in this country. We noticed its great height on the banks of the Jordan, as have several other travellers; and Dr. Thomson remarks that in the Plain of Acre he has seen it as tall as a horse and its rider" (Tristram, 'Nat. Hist. of Bible,' p. 472, edit. 1889). Which a man took. The insertion of λαβών is probably to exclude the idea of a chance sowing. True that the seed might, under certain circumstances, then grow as well, but the reality which is being described was the result of long and deliberate purpose (Titus 1:3; 1 Peter 1:20). And sowed in his field. "His garden" (Luke) suggests a piece of ground that was at once smaller and more cared for.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
[Jesus] put before
παρέθηκεν (parethēken)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3908: From para and tithemi; to place alongside, i.e. Present; by implication, to deposit.

them
αὐτοῖς (autois)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

another
Ἄλλην (Allēn)
Adjective - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 243: Other, another (of more than two), different. A primary word; 'else, ' i.e. Different.

parable:
παραβολὴν (parabolēn)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3850: From paraballo; a similitude, i.e. fictitious narrative, apothegm or adage.

“The
(hē)
Article - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

kingdom
βασιλεία (basileia)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 932: From basileus; properly, royalty, i.e. rule, or a realm.

of
τῶν (tōn)
Article - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

heaven
οὐρανῶν (ouranōn)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 3772: Perhaps from the same as oros; the sky; by extension, heaven; by implication, happiness, power, eternity; specially, the Gospel.

is
ἐστὶν (estin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

like
Ὁμοία (Homoia)
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3664: Like, similar to, resembling, of equal rank. From the base of homou; similar.

a mustard
σινάπεως (sinapeōs)
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 4615: Mustard (probably the shrub, not the herb). Perhaps from sinomai; mustard.

seed
κόκκῳ (kokkō)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2848: A kernel, grain, seed. Apparently a primary word; a kernel of seed.

that
ὃν (hon)
Personal / Relative Pronoun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3739: Who, which, what, that.

a man
ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 444: A man, one of the human race. From aner and ops; man-faced, i.e. A human being.

planted
ἔσπειρεν (espeiren)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4687: To sow, spread, scatter. Probably strengthened from spao; to scatter, i.e. Sow.

in
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

his
αὐτοῦ (autou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

field.
ἀγρῷ (agrō)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 68: From ago; a field; genitive case, the country; specially, a farm, i.e. Hamlet.


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Matthew 13:30
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