Matthew 13:13-15

13:13 For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand. 13:14 And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

‘You will listen carefully ¹  yet will never understand,

you will look closely ²  yet will never comprehend.

13:15 For the heart of this people has become dull;

they are hard of hearing,

and they have shut their eyes,

so that they would not see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’ ³ 

Matthew 13:19

13:19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one ⁴  comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; ⁵  this is the seed sown along the path.

---

¹ tn Grk “with hearing,” a cognate dative that intensifies the action of the main verb “you will listen” (ExSyn 168-69).

² tn Grk “look by looking.” The participle is redundant, functioning to intensify the force of the main verb.

³ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.

⁴ sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Mark 4:15 has “Satan,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

⁵ sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.