Matthew 13:4

13:4 And as he sowed, some seeds ¹  fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

Matthew 13:8

13:8 But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.

Matthew 21:35

21:35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one, ²  killed another, and stoned another.

Matthew 22:8

22:8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy.

Matthew 23:27

23:27 “Woe to you, experts in the law ³  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. ⁴ 

Matthew 25:15

25:15 To ⁵  one he gave five talents, ⁶  to another two, and to another one, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

¹ tn In Matthew’s version of this parable, plural pronouns are used to refer to the seed in v. 4 (ἅ…αὐτά [Ja…auta]), although the collective singular is used in v. 5 and following (indicated by the singular verbs like ἔπεσεν [epesen]). For the sake of consistency in English, plural pronouns referring to the seed are used in the translation throughout the Matthean account. In both Mark and Luke the collective singular is used consistently throughout (cf. Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-8).

² sn The image of the tenants mistreating the owner’s slaves pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

³ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

⁴ sn This was an idiom for hypocrisy – just as the wall was painted on the outside but something different on the inside, so this person was not what he appeared or pretended to be (for discussion of a similar metaphor, see L&N 88.234; BDAG 1010 s.v. τοῖχος). See Deut 28:22; Ezek 13:10-16; Acts 23:3.

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

⁵ sn A talent was equal to 6000 denarii. See the note on this term in 18:24.