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OET (OET-LV) The kingdom of_the heavens is similar to_treasure having_been_hidden in the field, which a_man having_found hid, and from the joy of_it is_going and is_selling all as_much_as he_is_having, and is_buying the that field.
OET (OET-RV) “The heavenly kingdom is like a field that had had treasure hidden in it. When someone found the treasure, they hid it again, and with great excitement went and sold everything they had so they could buy that field.
In this section, Jesus told three more parables. Each parable teaches something about the kingdom of God. The first parable tells a story about a treasure, and the second parable tells a story about a pearl. Both parables show that being in God’s kingdom is worth much more than all a person has. The third parable tells a story about a fishing net. Its meaning is similar to the parable of the weeds. It shows that good and bad people will live together for a while. But in the end, God will judge all people.
If the major language translation in your area breaks each parable into a separate section, you may want to follow that example. For example: 13:44 is “The parable of the hidden treasure,” 13:45–46 is “The parable of the pearl,” and 13:47–50 is “The parable of the fish net.”
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Three parables
Parables about a treasure, a pearl, and a fishing net
These three parables occur only in Matthew.
The parable of the treasure in a field teaches us that the most important thing in a person’s life is to belong to God’s kingdom. A person should seek to belong to God’s kingdom at all cost.
This parable does not teach that a person can buy his way into God’s kingdom. If people in your area will not understand the teaching of this parable, you may want to explain it in a footnote. A sample footnote is:
This parable shows that the most important thing in a person’s life is to belong to God’s kingdom. The parable does not show that someone can buy their way into God’s kingdom.
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.
¶ “The kingdom of heaven is like riches that were buried in a field.
¶ Jesus continued, “God’s rule/chieftaincy is also like coins/gold that someone/they buried in a field.
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field: This clause is a simile. It compares the kingdom of heaven/God to a hidden treasure. The point of similarity in this comparison is that both are worth much more than everything that a person owns. A person should do anything necessary to get them.
The kingdom of heaven: This phrase last occurred in 13:33b–c. For help in translating this phrase, see the note at 13:11b.
treasure: This word refers to an object or objects that are very valuable. The Greek text does not tell us exactly what the treasure was. It could have been coins, jewels, or something else that was worth a lot of money.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
Use a specific term for something that is very valuable. For example:
gold/silver
coins/money
Use a general term for an object that is very valuable. For example:
an object worth much money
something very valuable
hidden in a field: In this context, the word hidden probably means “buried.” In those days, it was common for people to bury their valuable possessions in the ground. They did this so that thieves or enemy soldiers could not find them and steal them.
This word is passive. Here are some ways to translate it:
Use a passive verb. For example:
buried in a field (GW)
Use an active verb. For example:
that they/someone had buried in a field
When a man found it, he hid it again,
A man came upon it, and covered it up again.
When someone accidentally uncovered it, he covered/buried it again.
When a man found it: This clause refers to someone accidentally finding/discovering a treasure. It does not indicate that the person was deliberately looking for it. The person was probably a worker plowing or hoeing another person’s field, and he accidentally unearthed a treasure.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
a man discovered it (GW)
a man accidentally uncovered it
a man came upon it
he hid it again: This phrase indicates that the man put the treasure back the way he found it. He hid/buried it again.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
he covered it up again
he buried it again (GW)
and in his joy he went and sold all he had
Then he went with joy and sold everything that he owned
He was very happy. He went and sold everything he owned to get enough money.
and in his joy he went: The phrase in his joy refers to the entire situation. The man was happy that he found a treasure. And he was happy to sell everything he had in order to buy the field. You should put this phrase where it is most natural in your language. For example:
He was so happy that he went (NCV)
He went with joy and sold…
He went and happily sold…
sold all he had: The man did not own the field where the treasure was, so he could not legally keep the treasure. He had to first buy the field in order to claim the treasure. In order to have enough money to buy the field, he had to sell everything he owned.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
sold all his possessions
sold everything he owned to get enough money (NLT)
and bought that field.
and bought that field.
Then he bought that field to own/keep the treasure.
and bought that field: The man had to buy the field in order to own the treasure. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this information explicit. For example:
and buys that field to own/keep the treasure
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parables
ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ Βασιλεία τῶν Οὐρανῶν θησαυρῷ
similar (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁμοία ἐστίν Ἡ Βασιλεία τῶν Οὐρανῶν θησαυρῷ κεκρυμμένῳ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ ὅν εὑρών ἄνθρωπος ἔκρυψεν καί ἀπό τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ ὑπάγει καί πωλεῖ παντᾶ ὅσα ἔχει καί ἀγοράζει τόν ἀγρόν ἐκεῖνον)
To teach the disciples, Jesus offers a story or illustration. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: [Listen to this story: the kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
κεκρυμμένῳ
˓having_been˒_hidden
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who did the action, you could use an indefinite subject. Alternate translation: [that someone had hidden]
Note 3 topic: translate-tense
ὃν εὑρὼν ἄνθρωπος ἔκρυψεν, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ ὑπάγει καὶ πωλεῖ πάντα ὅσα ἔχει, καὶ ἀγοράζει τὸν ἀγρὸν ἐκεῖνον
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁμοία ἐστίν Ἡ Βασιλεία τῶν Οὐρανῶν θησαυρῷ κεκρυμμένῳ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ ὅν εὑρών ἄνθρωπος ἔκρυψεν καί ἀπό τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ ὑπάγει καί πωλεῖ παντᾶ ὅσα ἔχει καί ἀγοράζει τόν ἀγρόν ἐκεῖνον)
Here Jesus tells the story partly in the past tense and partly in the present tense. This was a natural way to tell the story in his language. Consider what tense your language might use to tell this kind of story. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use the same tense throughout the story. Alternate translation: [which, finding, a man hides. And from his joy, he goes and sells everything, as much as he has, and buys that field]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ὃν εὑρὼν ἄνθρωπος ἔκρυψεν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁμοία ἐστίν Ἡ Βασιλεία τῶν Οὐρανῶν θησαυρῷ κεκρυμμένῳ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ ὅν εὑρών ἄνθρωπος ἔκρυψεν καί ἀπό τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ ὑπάγει καί πωλεῖ παντᾶ ὅσα ἔχει καί ἀγοράζει τόν ἀγρόν ἐκεῖνον)
Here Jesus means that the man found the treasure, but then he hid it again so that no one else would find it before he could buy the field. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [which a man found and then hid again]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ ὑπάγει
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁμοία ἐστίν Ἡ Βασιλεία τῶν Οὐρανῶν θησαυρῷ κεκρυμμένῳ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ ὅν εὑρών ἄνθρωπος ἔκρυψεν καί ἀπό τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ ὑπάγει καί πωλεῖ παντᾶ ὅσα ἔχει καί ἀγοράζει τόν ἀγρόν ἐκεῖνον)
Here Jesus could mean that: (1) the man sold everything and bought the field because of his joy. Alternate translation: [because of his joy, he goes] (2) the man sold everything and bought the field while he experienced joy. Alternate translation: [joyfully, he goes]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁμοία ἐστίν Ἡ Βασιλεία τῶν Οὐρανῶν θησαυρῷ κεκρυμμένῳ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ ὅν εὑρών ἄνθρωπος ἔκρυψεν καί ἀπό τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ ὑπάγει καί πωλεῖ παντᾶ ὅσα ἔχει καί ἀγοράζει τόν ἀγρόν ἐκεῖνον)
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of joy, you could express the same idea in another way. Make sure that your translation fits with the interpretation you chose in the previous note. Alternate translation: [because of how joyful he was]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicitinfo
πάντα ὅσα ἔχει
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁμοία ἐστίν Ἡ Βασιλεία τῶν Οὐρανῶν θησαυρῷ κεκρυμμένῳ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ ὅν εὑρών ἄνθρωπος ἔκρυψεν καί ἀπό τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ ὑπάγει καί πωλεῖ παντᾶ ὅσα ἔχει καί ἀγοράζει τόν ἀγρόν ἐκεῖνον)
The expression everything, as much as he has contains extra information that would be unnatural to express in some languages. If this is true of your language, you could shorten the expression. Alternate translation: [everything that he has]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἀγοράζει τὸν ἀγρὸν ἐκεῖνον
˓is˒_buying (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁμοία ἐστίν Ἡ Βασιλεία τῶν Οὐρανῶν θησαυρῷ κεκρυμμένῳ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ ὅν εὑρών ἄνθρωπος ἔκρυψεν καί ἀπό τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ ὑπάγει καί πωλεῖ παντᾶ ὅσα ἔχει καί ἀγοράζει τόν ἀγρόν ἐκεῖνον)
Here Jesus implies that the man buys that field so that he can also own the treasure. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [buys that field and the treasure in it] or [buys that field so he can possess the treasure]
OET (OET-LV) The kingdom of_the heavens is similar to_treasure having_been_hidden in the field, which a_man having_found hid, and from the joy of_it is_going and is_selling all as_much_as he_is_having, and is_buying the that field.
OET (OET-RV) “The heavenly kingdom is like a field that had had treasure hidden in it. When someone found the treasure, they hid it again, and with great excitement went and sold everything they had so they could buy that field.
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.