Matius 3:2

3:2 “Repent, ¹  for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Matius 4:17

4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach this message: ²  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Matius 13:11

13:11 He replied, ³  “You have been given ⁴  the opportunity to know ⁵  the secrets ⁶  of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.

Matius 13:31

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

13:31 He gave ⁷  them another parable: ⁸  “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed ⁹  that a man took and sowed in his field.

Matius 13:33

The Parable of the Yeast

13:33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with ¹⁰  three measures ¹¹  of flour until all the dough had risen.” ¹² 

Lukas 13:18

On the Kingdom of God

13:18 Thus Jesus ¹³  asked, ¹⁴  “What is the kingdom of God ¹⁵  like? ¹⁶  To ¹⁷  what should I compare it?

[3:2]  ¹ tn Grk “and saying, ‘Repent.’” The participle λέγων (legwn) at the beginning of v. 2 is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[4:17]  ² tn Grk “and to say.”

[13:11]  ³ tn Grk “And answering, he said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:11]  ⁴ tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

[13:11]  ⁵ tn Grk “to you it has been given to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.

[13:11]  ⁶ tn Grk “the mysteries.”

[13:11]  sn The key term secrets (μυστήριον, musthrion) can mean either (1) a new revelation or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation as in Dan 2:17-23, 27-30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the NT consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1-4; Heb 1:1-2). The traditional translation of this word, “mystery,” is misleading to the modern English reader because it suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).

[13:31]  ⁷ tn Grk “put before.”

[13:31]  ⁸ tn Grk “He set before them another parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

[13:31]  ⁹ sn The mustard seed was noted for its tiny size.

[13:33]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “hid in.”

[13:33]  ¹¹ sn This measure was a saton, the Greek name for the Hebrew term “seah.” Three of these was a very large quantity of flour, since a saton is a little over 16 pounds (7 kg) of dry measure (or 13.13 liters). So this was over 47 lbs (21 kg) of flour total, enough to feed over a hundred people.

[13:33]  ¹² tn Grk “it was all leavened.”

[13:33]  sn The parable of the yeast and the dough teaches that the kingdom of God will start small but eventually grow to permeate everything. Jesus’ point was not to be deceived by its seemingly small start, the same point made in the parable of the mustard seed, which preceded this one.

[13:18]  ¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:18]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “said,” but what follows is a question.

[13:18]  ¹⁵ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[13:18]  ¹⁶ sn What is the kingdom of God like? Unlike Mark 4 or Matt 13, where the kingdom parables tend to be all in one location in the narrative, Luke scatters his examples throughout the Gospel.

[13:18]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And to.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.