In British Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines the signs for “tell-a-story” and “compare.” (Source: Anna Smith)
“Parable” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023) translates it into English as analogy because “the Greek word has the sense of tossing down something alongside something else. Hence an analogy.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 13:13:
Uma: “That is why I speak with parables when I speak to the crowds, because they have ears but they do not know the meaning of what they hear. They have eyes but they do not know the meaning of what they see. [Order of clauses reversed, because the word ‘to-have-eyes’ is tricky to read, and by putting ‘to-have-ears’ first it clues the reader in and thereby makes it easier to read the difficult word]” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “This is the reason why I speak in parables when I teach them, because they look but do not see, and they hear but do not really hear and do not understand.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The reason I teach them by means of parables is so that they might understand, because they keep on looking at it but they cannot see it, which is to say, they listen but it is as if they don’t hear because they don’t understand.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Therefore parables are what-I-am-using to teach them, because even though they are seeing, they are not able-to-recognize, and even though they are hearing, they are not able-to understand.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Therefore I am only using illustrations to teach them because staring, they can’t see, and they listen but can’t hear and understand.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Therefore I search for how to make comparisons when I speak to the people. Because the people see what I do, but they act as though they didn’t see anything. Concerning the words they hear, it is as though they didn’t hear anything, they do not understand the word I speak.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
This is why I speak to them in parables: verse 13 is best interpreted as the continuation of Jesus’ response to the question raised by the disciples in verse 10. In verses 11-12 he contrasts those who have understanding with those who do not, and now he focuses upon those who are without understanding. As the quotation from Isaiah indicates (verses 14-15), the people do not understand because they refuse to understand.
In many languages the pronoun This is confusing, since it most naturally refers back to verses 11 and 12. To avoid this, translators can follow Good News Translation, “The reason I use parables in talking to them is…,” or say “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because….”
Again, them refers to “these people” or just “people.”
Speak to them can be “talk to them” or “teach them.”
Because is the same conjunction with which Matthew introduces the words of Jesus in verse 11 (not expressly translated there in Revised Standard Version). This Greek word may either mean because or may be used to introduce a quotation, serving as the equivalent of opening quotation marks. Matthew uses it twice in this passage, but it does not appear at all in the parallels in Mark and Luke. This suggests that Matthew here intends a causative force rather than merely a marker of direct discourse. Two observations strengthen this conclusion: (1) Matthew opens this verse with a formula which specifically indicates cause (This is why), and (2) he alone of the Gospel writers quotes directly Isaiah 6.9-10. The parables thus confirm the people’s refusal to respond to Jesus’ message.
Seeing they do not see: the combination of a finite verb form (see) and a participle of the same (or equivalent) verb stem (seeing) is a way of stating something with great emphasis in the biblical languages. In some languages the meaning of the same verb used twice can best be conveyed by adding some modifier, as in “They can see, but yet they don’t (see)” or “They can see, but they don’t really see.” Some translations such as Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch use two different verbs. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “Because they see, but understand nothing; they hear, but comprehend nothing.” Another example is “They can see, but don’t perceive.”
In some languages people will ask “they don’t see (or, perceive) what?” Possible objects can be “what is there (to see)” or “the truth,” or even “they perceive nothing.”
These same problems arise with hearing … hear. “They can hear, but yet they don’t” or “… but don’t really hear” are possible translations. The text adds nor do they understand, which Good News Translation and New International Version reduce to “or understand.” The problem is that it doesn’t really add meaning to the sense of do not see or do not hear, but translators can make it a separate sentence, “They don’t understand at all (or, anything).”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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