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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT ESA WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Mat C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28
Mat 13 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51 V53 V55 V57
OET (OET-LV) For/Because, truly I_am_saying to_you_all that many prophets and righteous men desired to_see what you_all_are_seeing, and they_ not _saw, and to_hear what you_all_are_hearing, and they_ not _heard.
OET (OET-RV) because I can assure you all that many prophets and godly people wanted to see what you’re seeing, but they didn’t see, and they wanted to hear what you’re all hearing, but they didn’t hear it either.
In this section, Jesus told the first of eightSome commentators do not consider 13:51–52 a parable, so they count seven parables in this chapter. parables about the kingdom of heaven. These parables helped the disciples understand the kingdom of heaven. They also helped the disciples understand why some people did not accept Jesus’ message.
The first parable is about a farmer who sows seed in different kinds of soil. The different kinds of soil represent different kinds of people and how they accept God’s Word. In 13:18 Jesus referred to this parable as “the parable of the sower.”
After Jesus told this parable, he explained why he told parables (13:10–17).
Some other examples for a heading for this section are:
A story about a farmer planting seed
The parable about the four kinds of soil
There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 4:1–12 and Luke 8:4–10.
Jesus began a new topic here. He explained why he used parables. Some English versions begin a new section here. If you want to do that, here are some possible section headings:
Jesus explained the reason he taught using parables
The Purpose of the Parables (NRSV)
For truly I tell you,
You are blessed because I assure you(plur) that
I tell you(plur) with certainty,
For: Verse 13:17 explains how the disciples are blessed (13:16). The Greek introduces this explanation with a conjunction that the BSB translates as For.
Here is another way to translate this:
You are blessed because
Many English versions do not translate this conjunction. In some languages, it will not be necessary to translate this conjunction either.
truly I tell you: Jesus often used the words truly I tell you to introduce a statement that he wanted to emphasize. When he began a statement with these words, he was asking people to listen with extra attention.
Here are some ways to show this emphasis:
As a phrase before Jesus’ statement. For example:
I assure you (NLT96)
Listen to this:
Let me tell you this:
As a phrase at the end of Jesus’ statement. For example:
many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it…. That is the truth.
If you have another way in your language to emphasize a statement or to alert people to listen with special attention, consider using it here. See how you translated this clause in 11:11a.
many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see
many prophets and good people wanted very much to see the things that you see,
many prophets and people who did what was right greatly desired to see the things that you now see,
many prophets and righteous men: The phrase righteous men refers to people who live by God’s standards. They do what is right and good in God’s sight.
Here are some other ways to translate righteous men:
people who do what is right
good people (CEV)
people who obey God’s laws
longed to see: The Greek word that the BSB translates as longed means “greatly desired.”
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
wanted very much to see (GNT)
were eager to see (CEV)
what you see: The words what you see refer to the deeds of Jesus. God told prophecies about what the Christ would do, and prophets and righteous people wanted to see the Christ and his deeds.
Here is another way to translate this clause:
the things that you now see (NCV)
but did not see it,
but they did not see them,
but did not see it: There is a contrast here. The contrast is between what the prophets wanted to see (13:17b), and what they actually saw (13:17c). Some English versions indicate this contrast with the conjunction but. Other translations leave the contrast implicit. For example:
and did not see it (ESV)
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
and to hear the things that you hear, but they did not hear them.
And they wanted to hear the words that you hear, but they did not hear them.
and to hear what you hear: The words what you hear refer to the things/words that Jesus said.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
And they wanted to hear the things that you now hear (NCV)
and hear the words that you hear
but did not hear it: There is a contrast here. The contrast is between what the people wanted to hear, and what they actually heard. Some English versions, including the BSB, indicate this contrast with the conjunction but.
In some languages, it will be natural to put the phrases “see what you see” and “hear what you hear” together. For example:
bMany prophets and good people were eager to see what you see dand to hear what you hear. aBut I tell you that cthey did not see dor hear. (CEV)
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
γὰρ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀμήν Γάρ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πολλοί προφῆται καί δικαιοί ἐπεθύμησαν ἰδεῖν ἅ βλέπετε καί οὐκ εἶδαν καί ἀκοῦσαι ἅ ἀκούετε καί οὐκ ἤκουσαν)
Here, the word For introduces a reason why the disciples are blessed. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces a reason or basis for a claim, or you could leave For untranslated. Alternate translation: [You are blessed because] or [That is because]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἃ βλέπετε & ἃ ἀκούετε
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀμήν Γάρ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πολλοί προφῆται καί δικαιοί ἐπεθύμησαν ἰδεῖν ἅ βλέπετε καί οὐκ εἶδαν καί ἀκοῦσαι ἅ ἀκούετε καί οὐκ ἤκουσαν)
Here Jesus implies that what the disciples see and hear is what he does and teaches. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [what you see me do … what you hear me say]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
οὐκ εἶδαν & οὐκ ἤκουσαν
not ˱they˲_saw & not ˱they˲_heard
Here Jesus implies that these people did not see or hear what the disciples can see and hear. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [did not see those things … did not hear those things]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
οὐκ εἶδαν & οὐκ ἤκουσαν
not ˱they˲_saw & not ˱they˲_heard
Here Jesus implies that these people did not see or hear what the disciples see and hear because they lived before Jesus was born. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [because they lived before this time, did not see … because they lived before this time, did not hear]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
καὶ ἀκοῦσαι
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀμήν Γάρ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πολλοί προφῆται καί δικαιοί ἐπεθύμησαν ἰδεῖν ἅ βλέπετε καί οὐκ εἶδαν καί ἀκοῦσαι ἅ ἀκούετε καί οὐκ ἤκουσαν)
Jesus is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from earlier in the sentence if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: [and they longed to hear]
OET (OET-LV) For/Because, truly I_am_saying to_you_all that many prophets and righteous men desired to_see what you_all_are_seeing, and they_ not _saw, and to_hear what you_all_are_hearing, and they_ not _heard.
OET (OET-RV) because I can assure you all that many prophets and godly people wanted to see what you’re seeing, but they didn’t see, and they wanted to hear what you’re all hearing, but they didn’t hear it either.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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