He said,“ You have been given the chance to understand the secrets of God’s kingdom. But to outsiders I speak by using stories. In that way,“‘ They see, but they will not know what they are seeing. They hear, but they will not understand what they are hearing.’( Isaiah 6:9)

他说：“神国的奥秘只叫你们知道；至于别人，就用比喻，叫他们看也看不见，听也听不明。”

他说：“上帝国的奥秘只让你们知道，至于别人，就用比喻，要他们看也看不见，听也不明白。”

他说：“神国的奥秘只让你们知道，至于别人，就用比喻，要他们看也看不见，听也不明白。”

耶稣便说：“上帝国的奥秘只让你们知道，对其他人，我就用比喻，使他们看却看不见，听却听不明白。

他说：“神的国的奥秘，只给你们知道，对别人就用比喻，叫他们看却看不见，听却听不明白。

他说：“神国的奥秘已经赐下来让你们知道，但是对其他的人就用比喻。这是为要使‘他们看，却看不见；听，却不领悟。’

他說：「神國的奧祕只叫你們知道；至於別人，就用比喻，叫他們看也看不見，聽也聽不明。」

他說：「上帝國的奧祕只讓你們知道，至於別人，就用比喻，要他們看也看不見，聽也不明白。」

他說：「神國的奧祕只讓你們知道，至於別人，就用比喻，要他們看也看不見，聽也不明白。」

耶穌便說：「上帝國的奧祕只讓你們知道，對其他人，我就用比喻，使他們看卻看不見，聽卻聽不明白。

他說：“神的國的奧祕，只給你們知道，對別人就用比喻，叫他們看卻看不見，聽卻聽不明白。

耶穌說：『上帝國的奧祕是給你們知道的；對於其他的人呢、就用比喻，使他們看是看，卻看不見；聽是聽，卻不曉悟！

他說：「神國的奧祕已經賜下來讓你們知道，但是對其他的人就用比喻。這是為要使『他們看，卻看不見；聽，卻不領悟。』

曰上帝國之奧、賜爾知之、惟於他人則設喻、俾其視而不明、聽而不悟、

曰、上帝國之奧、與爾知之、惟於他人、則設譬、故彼視而不明、聽而不悟、

答曰、天主國之奧、乃賜爾知之、惟於他人則設喻、使其視亦不見、聽亦不悟、

耶穌曰：『天主國之奧義、賜爾知之；為他人惟設譬而已。彼乃所謂視而不見、聞而不悟者也。

He said,“ The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,“‘ though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’

he said,“ To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that‘ seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’

He replied,“ You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:‘ When they look, they won’t really see. When they hear, they won’t understand.’

So he said,“ The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that Looking they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

And He said,“ To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so that while seeing they may not see, and while hearing they may not understand.

And He said,“ To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that‘ Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’

And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to the rest in parables; that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

So He said,“ The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that Looking they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

He said,“ You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understand.

He said,“ To you it is given to know the mysteries of God’s Kingdom, but to the rest in parables; that‘ seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’

So he said,“ Go and speak to these people. Tell them,“‘ You will hear but never understand. You will see but never know what you are seeing.’

He told them,“ The secret of God’s kingdom has been given to you. But to outsiders everything is told using stories.

At that time Jesus said,“ I praise you, Father. You are Lord of heaven and earth. You have hidden these things from wise and educated people. But you have shown them to little children.

People like that don’t even know what they are doing. Their eyes are shut so that they can’t see the truth. Their minds are closed so that they can’t understand it.

He replied,“ Because you have been given the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. It has not been given to outsiders.Everyone who has this kind of knowledge will be given more knowledge. In fact, they will have very much. If anyone doesn’t have this kind of knowledge, even what little they have will be taken away from them.Here is why I use stories when I speak to the people. I say,“ They look, but they don’t really see. They listen, but they don’t really hear or understand.In them the words of the prophet Isaiah come true. He said,“‘ You will hear but never understand. You will see but never know what you are seeing.The hearts of these people have become stubborn. They can barely hear with their ears. They have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes. They might hear with their ears. They might understand with their hearts. They might turn to the Lord, and then he would heal them.’( Isaiah 6:9, 10)But blessed are your eyes because they see. And blessed are your ears because they hear.What I’m about to tell you is true. Many prophets and godly people wanted to see what you see. But they didn’t see it. They wanted to hear what you hear. But they didn’t hear it.

‘ Listen to this, you foolish people, who do not have any sense. You have eyes, but you do not see. You have ears, but you do not hear.

My goal is that their hearts may be encouraged and strengthened. I want them to be joined together in love. Then their understanding will be rich and complete. They will know the mystery of God. That mystery is Christ.

May God receive glory. He is able to strengthen your faith. He does this in keeping with the good news and the message I preach. It is the message about Jesus Christ. This message is in keeping with the mystery hidden for a very long time.

That word contains the mystery that has been hidden for many ages. But now it has been made known to the Lord’s people.God has chosen to make known to them the glorious riches of that mystery. He has made it known among the Gentiles. And here is what it is. Christ is in you. He is your hope of glory.Christ is the one we preach about. With all the wisdom we have, we warn and teach everyone. When we bring them to God, we want them to be like Christ. We want them to be grown up as people who belong to Christ.

“‘ Go to your people. Say to them,“ You will hear but never understand. You will see but never know what you are seeing.”These people’s hearts have become stubborn. They can barely hear with their ears. They have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes. They might hear with their ears. They might understand with their hearts. They might turn, and then I would heal them.’( Isaiah 6:9, 10)

What should we say then? The people of Israel did not receive what they wanted so badly. Those Israelites who were chosen did receive it. But the rest of the people were made stubborn.It is written,“ God made it hard for them to understand. He gave them eyes that could not see. He gave them ears that could not hear. And they are still like that today.”( Deuteronomy 29:4; Isaiah 29:10)David says,“ Let their feast be a trap and a snare. Let them trip and fall. Let them get what’s coming to them.Let their eyes grow dark so they can’t see. Let their backs be bent forever.”( Psalm 69:22, 23)

Jesus replied,“ Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! No mere human showed this to you. My Father in heaven showed it to you.

The Lord shares his plans with those who have respect for him. He makes his covenant known to them.

But to this day the Lord hasn’t given you a mind that understands. He hasn’t given you eyes that see. He hasn’t given you ears that hear.

All the gifts are produced by one and the same Spirit. He gives gifts to each person, just as he decides.

So once more I will shock these people with many wonderful acts. I will destroy the wisdom of those who think they are so wise. I will do away with the cleverness of those who think they are so smart.”

The prophets searched very hard and with great care to find out about this salvation. They spoke about the grace that was going to come to you.They wanted to find out when and how this salvation would come. The Spirit of Christ in them was telling them about the sufferings of the Messiah. These were his sufferings that were going to come. The Spirit of Christ was also telling them about the glory that would follow.It was made known to the prophets that they were not serving themselves. Instead, they were serving you when they spoke about the things that you have now heard. Those who have preached the good news to you have told you these things. They have done it with the help of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

No, we announce God’s wisdom. His wisdom is a mystery that has been hidden. But before time began, God planned that his wisdom would bring us heavenly glory.None of the rulers of this world understood God’s wisdom. If they had, they would not have nailed the Lord of glory to the cross.It is written that“ no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human mind has known.”( Isaiah 64:4) God has prepared these things for those who love him.God has shown these things to us through his Spirit. The Spirit understands all things. He understands even the deep things of God.Who can know the thoughts of another person? Only a person’s own spirit can know them. In the same way, only the Spirit of God knows God’s thoughts.

“ The Lord has blinded their eyes. He has closed their minds. So they can’t see with their eyes. They can’t understand with their minds. They can’t turn to the Lord. If they could, he would heal them.”( Isaiah 6:10)

There is no doubt that true godliness comes from this great mystery. Jesus came as a human being. The Holy Spirit proved that he was the Son of God. He was seen by angels. He was preached among the nations. People in the world believed in him. He was taken up to heaven in glory.

At that time Jesus was full of joy through the Holy Spirit. He said,“ I praise you, Father. You are Lord of heaven and earth. You have hidden these things from wise and educated people. But you have shown them to little children. Yes, Father. This is what you wanted to do.“ My Father has given all things to me. The Father is the only one who knows who the Son is. And the only ones who know the Father are the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to make the Father known.”Then Jesus turned to his disciples. He said to them in private,“ Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see. But they didn’t see it. They wanted to hear what you hear. But they didn’t hear it.”

I’m talking about the mystery God showed me. I have already written a little about it.By reading about this mystery, you will be able to understand what I know. You will know about the mystery of Christ.The mystery was not made known to people of other times. But now the Holy Spirit has made this mystery known to God’s holy apostles and prophets.Here is the mystery. Because of the good news, God’s promises are for Gentiles as well as for Jews. Both groups are parts of one body. They share in the promise. It belongs to them because they belong to Christ Jesus.I now serve the good news because God gave me his grace. His power is at work in me.I am by far the least important of all the Lord’s holy people. But he gave me the grace to preach to the Gentiles about the unlimited riches that Christ gives.God told me to make clear to everyone how the mystery came about. In times past it was kept hidden in the mind of God, who created all things.