MAT 13:12 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) [ref]Because anyone who already has will be given more and they will end up with plenty, but anyone who doesn’t have, even what they have will be taken away from them.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT For whoever has, it will be given to him, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

UST I say that because God will reveal even more to people who already know some things about God’s heavenly kingdom. They will know many things. In contrast, God will cause people who know very little about God’s heavenly kingdom to know nothing about it at all.

BLB For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will be in abundance. And whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

AICNT For 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.

OEB For, to all who have, more will be given, and they will have abundance; but, from all who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.

WEBBE For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

LSV for whoever has, it will be given to him, and he will have overabundance, and whoever has not, even that which he has will be taken from him.

FBV “Those who already have[fn] will have more given to them, more than enough. But those who don't have, whatever they have will be taken away from them.

13:12 Probably meaning “have understanding.”

TCNT For whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

T4T Those who think about what I say and understand it, God will enable them to understand more. But those who do not think carefully about what I say will forget even what they already know.

LEB For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

BBE Because whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have more; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

Moff For he who has, to him shall more be given and richly given,
⇔ but whoever has not, from him shall be taken even what he has.

Wymth For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but whoever has not, from him even what he has shall be taken away.

ASV For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.

DRA For he that hath, to him shall be given, and he shall abound: but he that hath not, from him shall be taken away that also which he hath.

YLT for whoever hath, it shall be given to him, and he shall have overabundance, and whoever hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken from him.

Drby for whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall be caused to be in abundance; but he who has not, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

RV For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.
(For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath/has not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. )

SLT For whoever has shall be given to him, and he shall have in excess; and whoever has not, also what he has shall be taken away from him.

Wbstr For whoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.

KJB-1769 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
( For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath/has not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. )

KJB-1611 For whosoeuer hath, to him shall be giuen, and he shall haue more abundance: but whosoeuer hath not, from him shall be taken away, euen that hee hath.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps For whosoeuer hath, to hym shalbe geuen, and he shall haue more aboundaunce: But whosoeuer hath not, from hym shalbe taken away, euen that he hath.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Gnva For whosoeuer hath, to him shalbe giuen, and he shall haue abundance: but whosoeuer hath not, from him shalbe taken away, euen that he hath.
(For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath/has not, from him shall be taken away, even that he hath. )

Cvdl For whoso hath, vnto him shal be geue, and he shal haue abundaunce. But who so hath not, from him shalbe taken awaye, eue that he hath.
(For whoso/whoever hath, unto him shall be give, and he shall have abundance. But whoso/whoever hath/has not, from him shall be taken away, eve/even that he hath.)

TNT For whosoever hath to him shall be geven: and he shall have aboundance. But whosoever hath not: from hym shalbe takyn awaye even that he hath.
(For whosoever hath/has to him shall be given: and he shall have abundance. But whosoever hath/has not: from him shall be takyn away even that he hath. )

Wycl For it shal be youun to hym that hath, and he shal haue plente; but if a man hath not, also that thing that he hath shal be takun awei fro hym.
(For it shall be given to him that hath, and he shall have plente; but if a man hath/has not, also that thing that he hath/has shall be taken away from him.)

Luth Denn wer da hat, dem wird gegeben, daß er die Fülle habe; wer aber nicht hat, von dem wird auch genommen, was er hat.
(Because who there has, to_him becomes given, that he the abundance have; who but not has, from to_him becomes also taken, what/which he has.)

ClVg Qui enim habet, dabitur ei, et abundabit: qui autem non habet, et quod habet auferetur ab eo.[fn]
(Who because has, will_be_given to_him, and abundabit: who/which however not/no has, and that has will_be_taken_away away by_him. )

13.12 Qui enim habet. Id est, apostolis habentibus fidem, si quid minus virtutum habent, conceditur Judæis, qui non credunt in Filium Dei, etiam si quid boni per naturam habent, tollitur. Nam nihil possunt sapienter intelligere qui caput non habent sapientiæ. Auferetur ab eo. Nulla veræ sapientiæ dulcedine gaudebit.

13.12 Who because has. That it_is, apostles havingbus faith, when/but_if what minus virtues they_have, conceditur To_the_Jews, who/which not/no they_believe in/into/on Son of_God, also when/but_if what good through nature they_have, is_taken_away. For/Surely nothing they_can wisely to_understand who/which the_head not/no they_have of_wisdom. It_will_be_removed away by_him. Nulla really of_wisdom sweetness will_rejoice.

UGNT ὅστις γὰρ ἔχει, δοθήσεται αὐτῷ καὶ περισσευθήσεται; ὅστις δὲ οὐκ ἔχει, καὶ ὃ ἔχει ἀρθήσεται ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ.
(hostis gar eⱪei, dothaʸsetai autōi kai perisseuthaʸsetai; hostis de ouk eⱪei, kai ho eⱪei arthaʸsetai ap’ autou.)

SBL-GNT ὅστις γὰρ ἔχει, δοθήσεται αὐτῷ καὶ περισσευθήσεται· ὅστις δὲ οὐκ ἔχει, καὶ ὃ ἔχει ἀρθήσεται ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ.
(hostis gar eⱪei, dothaʸsetai autōi kai perisseuthaʸsetai; hostis de ouk eⱪei, kai ho eⱪei arthaʸsetai apʼ autou.)

RP-GNT Ὅστις γὰρ ἔχει, δοθήσεται αὐτῷ καὶ περισσευθήσεται· ὅστις δὲ οὐκ ἔχει, καὶ ὃ ἔχει ἀρθήσεται ἀπ' αὐτοῦ.
(Hostis gar eⱪei, dothaʸsetai autōi kai perisseuthaʸsetai; hostis de ouk eⱪei, kai ho eⱪei arthaʸsetai ap' autou.)

TC-GNT Ὅστις γὰρ ἔχει, δοθήσεται αὐτῷ καὶ περισσευθήσεται· ὅστις δὲ οὐκ ἔχει, καὶ ὃ ἔχει ἀρθήσεται ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ.
(Hostis gar eⱪei, dothaʸsetai autōi kai perisseuthaʸsetai; hostis de ouk eⱪei, kai ho eⱪei arthaʸsetai ap autou. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 13:1–17: Jesus told the parable about the man who sowed seeds

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.

Paragraph 13:10–17

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)

13:12a

Whoever has will be given more,

The person who has that knowledge will be given more,
Those who have understanding will be given more, (NCV)
The person who understands these things, God will help him understand even more things,

Verse 13:12 gives more information about the teaching in 13:11. The Greek introduces this extra information with a conjunction that the many English versions translate as “For.” In this context, it does not mean “because.” Do not translate this verse as if it were the reason for 13:12.

Here is another way to translate this conjunction:

Furthermore

The BSB and many other English versions do not translate this conjunction. In some languages, it will not be necessary to translate it either.

Whoever has will be given more: Some words from 13:11 are implied but not repeated in this verse part. In 13:11b, knowledge was given, and here more will be given. In some languages, it may be natural to make this information explicit. For example:

Whoever has that knowledge will be given more

Those who have understanding will be given more (NCV)

Those who understand [these mysteries] will be given [more knowledge] (GW)

In some languages, it may be necessary to have an object for the verb has and given, even if it is not the word “knowledge” or “understanding.” For example:

Everyone who has something will be given more. (CEV)

will be given more: This verb is passive. God is the one who will give more knowledge/understanding.

Here are some ways to translate this clause as an active clause:

God will give him more

God will help him understand even more things

13:12b

and he will have an abundance.

and that person’s knowledge will be abundant/much.
and they will have all they need. (NCV)
and he will understand many, many things.

he will have an abundance: The Greek word that the BSB translates as abundance means “more than enough, full to overflowing.” The word refers to God giving that person so much knowledge that the person will have no lack.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

he will have more than enough of knowledge

he will have lots of it

13:12c

Whoever does not have,

But whoever does not have that knowledge,
But those who do not have understanding, (NCV)
However, the person who does not understand these things,

13:12d

even what he has will be taken away from him.

even what he has will be taken from him.
even what they have will be taken away from them. (NCV)
God will remove even the little bit that he had/understood.

13:12c–d

The Greek begins this clause with a conjunction that indicates contrast here. The contrast is between the different types of people: the one who has, and the one who does not have. Many English versions indicate this contrast with the conjunction “but.”

Here is another way to indicate this contrast:

however

Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him: As in 13:12b, some words from 13:11 are implied but not repeated in this verse part. In 13:11b, knowledge was given. Here that knowledge/understanding will be taken away. In some languages, it may be natural to make this information explicit. For example:

those who do not have understanding, even what they have will be taken away from them (NCV)

some people don’t understand [these mysteries]…. Even what they understand will be taken away from them (GW)

people who don’t have anything will lose even what little they have (CEV)

The phrase does not have is an exaggeration. It refers to a person who has very little understanding/knowledge. In some languages, it may be more natural to translate the meaning without exaggerating. For example:

whoever understands very little, even the little he has will be taken from him

for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them (NLT)

even what he has will be taken away from him: This clause is passive. God is the one who will take this understanding/knowledge away.

Here are some ways to translate this clause as an active clause:

even what he has, God will take it from him

God will take away even the little knowledge that he has

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

γὰρ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅστις Γάρ ἔχει δοθήσεται αὐτῷ καί περισσευθήσεται ὅστις δέ οὐκ ἔχει καί ὅ ἔχει ἀρθήσεται ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ)

Here, the word For could introduce: (1) a reason why God reveals the mysteries of the kingdom to some people and not to other people. Alternate translation: [That is because] or [Here is why that happens:] (2) an explanation concerning why God reveals the mysteries of the kingdom to some people and not to other people. Alternate translation: [Indeed,] or [Here is what I mean:]

Note 2 topic: writing-proverbs

ὅστις & ἔχει, δοθήσεται αὐτῷ καὶ περισσευθήσεται; ὅστις δὲ οὐκ ἔχει, καὶ ὃ ἔχει ἀρθήσεται ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ

whoever & ˓is˒_having ˓will_be_being˒_given ˱to˲_him whoever & ˓is˒_having (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅστις Γάρ ἔχει δοθήσεται αὐτῷ καί περισσευθήσεται ὅστις δέ οὐκ ἔχει καί ὅ ἔχει ἀρθήσεται ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ)

Jesus uses or invents a proverb in order to teach that people who have something usually gain more of it, while people who have very little usually lose everything. Translate this proverb in a way that will be recognized as a proverb and be meaningful in your language and culture. Alternate translation: [people who have things receive more, and they have an abundance. But people who do not have things lose what they used to have]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ὅστις & ἔχει, δοθήσεται αὐτῷ καὶ περισσευθήσεται; ὅστις δὲ οὐκ ἔχει, καὶ ὃ ἔχει ἀρθήσεται ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ

Jesus implies that what the person has or does not have is knowledge or understanding about the “mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (see [13:11](../13/11.md)). You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [whoever has understanding, it will be given to him, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have understanding, even what he has will be taken away from him] or [whoever has knowledge about the kingdom, more will be given to him, and he will have an abundance of knowledge. But whoever does not have knowledge about the kingdom, even what knowledge he has will be taken away from him]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

δοθήσεται & ἀρθήσεται

˓will_be_being˒_given & ˓will_be_being˒_taken_away

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 does the action, it is clear from the context that it is God. Alternate translation: [God will give … God will take away]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

αὐτῷ καὶ περισσευθήσεται & ὃ ἔχει & αὐτοῦ

˱to˲_him (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅστις Γάρ ἔχει δοθήσεται αὐτῷ καί περισσευθήσεται ὅστις δέ οὐκ ἔχει καί ὅ ἔχει ἀρθήσεται ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ)

Although the terms him and he are masculine in this verse, Jesus is using the words in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use phrases that make this clear. Alternate translation: [to that person, and he or she will have an abundance … what that person has … him or her]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

περισσευθήσεται

˱he˲_˓will_be_being˒_in_abundance

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of abundance, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [he will abound] or [he will have very much]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole

ὅστις δὲ οὐκ ἔχει

whoever whoever (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅστις Γάρ ἔχει δοθήσεται αὐτῷ καί περισσευθήσεται ὅστις δέ οὐκ ἔχει καί ὅ ἔχει ἀρθήσεται ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ)

Jesus says whoever does not have here as a generalization for emphasis. It is clear in the second half of the sentence that the person did have something. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different way to express the emphasis. Alternate translation: [But whoever has almost nothing] or [But whoever does not have much]