Matthew 27:10

27:10 and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.” ¹ 

Matthew 13:7

13:7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, ²  and they grew up and choked them. ³ 

Matthew 10:1

Sending Out the Twelve Apostles

10:1 Jesus ⁴  called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits ⁵  so they could cast them out and heal every kind of disease and sickness. ⁶ 

Matthew 13:4

13:4 And as he sowed, some seeds ⁷  fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

Matthew 13:28

13:28 He said, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So ⁸  the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’

Matthew 13:39

13:39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

Matthew 23:4

23:4 They ⁹  tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them.

Matthew 27:6

27:6 The ¹⁰  chief priests took the silver and said, “It is not lawful to put this into the temple treasury, since it is blood money.”

Matthew 13:30

13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At ¹¹  harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, but then ¹²  gather ¹³  the wheat into my barn.”’”

Matthew 6:26

6:26 Look at the birds in the sky: ¹⁴  They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds ¹⁵  them. Aren’t you more valuable ¹⁶  than they are?

Matthew 11:25

Jesus’ Invitation

11:25 At that time Jesus said, ¹⁷  “I praise ¹⁸  you, Father, Lord ¹⁹  of heaven and earth, because ²⁰  you have hidden these things from the wise ²¹  and intelligent, and revealed them to little children.

Matthew 19:14

19:14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ²² 

[27:10]  ¹ sn The source of this citation is debated (see the tc note on Jeremiah in v. 9 above for a related discussion). The quotation is most closely related to Zech 11:12-13, but the reference to Jeremiah in v. 9 as the source leads one to look there as well. There is no exact match for this text in Jeremiah, but there are some conceptual parallels: In Jer 18:2-6 the prophet visits a potter, and in Jer 32:6-15 he buys a field. D. A. Carson argues that Jer 19:1-13 is the source of the quotation augmented with various phrases drawn from Zech 11:12-13 (“Matthew,” EBC 8:563). W. D. Davies and D. C. Allison argue that the reference to Jeremiah is not meant to refer to one specific text from that prophet, but instead to signal that his writings as a whole are a source from which the quotation is drawn (Matthew [ICC], 3:568-69). Although the exact source of the citation is uncertain, it is reasonable to see texts from the books of Jeremiah and Zechariah both coming into play here.

[13:7]  ² sn Palestinian weeds like these thorns could grow up to six feet in height and have a major root system.

[13:7]  ³ sn That is, crowded out the good plants.

[10:1]  ³ tn Grk “And he.”

[10:1]  ⁴ sn Unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.

[10:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “and every [kind of] sickness.” Here “every” was not repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:4]  ⁴ 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).

[13:28]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the owner’s statement.

[23:4]  ⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:6]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:30]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[13:30]  ⁹ tn Grk “but.”

[13:30]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “burned, but gather.”

[6:26]  ⁹ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[6:26]  ¹⁰ tn Or “God gives them food to eat.” L&N 23.6 has both “to provide food for” and “to give food to someone to eat.”

[6:26]  ¹¹ tn Grk “of more value.”

[11:25]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “At that time, answering, Jesus said.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[11:25]  ¹¹ tn Or “thank.”

[11:25]  ¹² sn The title Lord is an important name for God, showing his sovereignty, but it is interesting that it comes next to a reference to the Father, a term indicative of God’s care. The two concepts are often related in the NT; see Eph 1:3-6.

[11:25]  ¹³ tn Or “that.”

[11:25]  ¹⁴ sn See 1 Cor 1:26-31.

[19:14]  ¹¹ sn The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.