Matthew 13:14
Context13:14 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.
Matthew 13:19
Context13:19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one 3 comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; 4 this is the seed sown along the path.
Matthew 13:23
Context13:23 But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.” 5


[13:14] 1 tn Grk “with hearing,” a cognate dative that intensifies the action of the main verb “you will listen” (ExSyn 168-69).
[13:14] 2 tn Grk “look by looking.” The participle is redundant, functioning to intensify the force of the main verb.
[13:19] 3 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.
[13:19] 4 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.
[13:23] 5 tn The Greek is difficult to translate because it switches from a generic “he” to three people within this generic class (thus, something like: “Who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one instance a hundred times, in another, sixty times, in another, thirty times”).