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Mark 4:2-9
He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said to them:“ Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow.As he sowed, this occurred: Some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it sprang up right away, since it didn’t have deep soil.When the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it didn’t have a root, it withered.Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it didn’t produce a crop.Still others fell on good ground and produced a crop that increased 30, 60, and 100 times what was sown.”Then He said,“ Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!”
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Matthew 13:53
When Jesus had finished these parables, He left there.
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Mark 12:12
Because they knew He had said this parable against them, they were looking for a way to arrest Him, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left Him and went away.
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Mark 4:33
He would speak the word to them with many parables like these, as they were able to understand.
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Mark 4:13
Then He said to them:“ Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any of the parables?
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2 Samuel 12 1-2 Samuel 12 7
So the Lord sent Nathan to David. When he arrived, he said to him: There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.The rich man had a large number of sheep and cattle,but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up, living with him and his children. It shared his meager food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man could not bring himself to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.David was infuriated with the man and said to Nathan:“ As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!Because he has done this thing and shown no pity, he must pay four lambs for that lamb.”Nathan replied to David,“ You are the man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says:‘ I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
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Matthew 13:34-35
Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables, and He would not speak anything to them without a parable,so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: I will open My mouth in parables; I will declare things kept secret from the foundation of the world.
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Luke 8:5-8
“ A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky ate it up.Other seed fell on the rock; when it sprang up, it withered, since it lacked moisture.Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.Still other seed fell on good ground; when it sprang up, it produced a crop: 100 times what was sown.” As He said this, He called out,“ Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!”
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Matthew 13:10-13
Then the disciples came up and asked Him,“ Why do You speak to them in parables?”He answered them,“ Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them.For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have more than enough. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.For this reason I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see, and hearing they do not listen or understand.
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Ezekiel 20:49
Then I said,“ Oh, Lord God, they are saying of me,‘ Isn’t he just posing riddles?’”
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Matthew 24:32
“ Now learn this parable from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.
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Micah 2:4
In that day one will take up a taunt against you, and lament mournfully, saying,“ We are totally ruined! He measures out the allotted land of my people. How He removes it from me! He allots our fields to traitors.”
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Luke 12:41
“ Lord,” Peter asked,“ are You telling this parable to us or to everyone?”
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Judges 9:8-20
The trees set out to anoint a king over themselves. They said to the olive tree,“ Reign over us.”But the olive tree said to them,“ Should I stop giving my oil that honors both God and man, and rule over the trees?”Then the trees said to the fig tree,“ Come and reign over us.”But the fig tree said to them,“ Should I stop giving my sweetness and my good fruit, and rule over trees?”Later, the trees said to the grapevine,“ Come and reign over us.”But the grapevine said to them,“ Should I stop giving my wine that cheers both God and man, and rule over trees?”Finally, all the trees said to the bramble,“ Come and reign over us.”The bramble said to the trees,“ If you really are anointing me as king over you, come and find refuge in my shade. But if not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.”“ Now if you have acted faithfully and honestly in making Abimelech king, if you have done well by Jerubbaal and his family, and if you have rewarded him appropriately for what he did—for my father fought for you, risked his life, and delivered you from the hand of Midian,and now you have attacked my father’s house today, killed his 70 sons on top of a large stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave, king over the lords of Shechem‘ because he is your brother’—if then you have acted faithfully and honestly with Jerubbaal and his house this day, rejoice in Abimelech and may he also rejoice in you.But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the lords of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the lords of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.”
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Isaiah 5:1-7
I will sing about the one I love, a song about my loved one’s vineyard: The one I love had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones, and planted it with the finest vines. He built a tower in the middle of it and even dug out a winepress there. He expected it to yield good grapes, but it yielded worthless grapes.So now, residents of Jerusalem and men of Judah, please judge between Me and My vineyard.What more could I have done for My vineyard than I did? Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes, did it yield worthless grapes?Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled.I will make it a wasteland. It will not be pruned or weeded; thorns and briers will grow up. I will also give orders to the clouds that rain should not fall on it.For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah, the plant He delighted in. He looked for justice but saw injustice, for righteousness, but heard cries of wretchedness.
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John 16:25
“ I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. A time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.
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Luke 15:3-7
So He told them this parable:“ What man among you, who has 100 sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it?When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders,and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them,‘ Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don’t need repentance.
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Mark 3:23
So He summoned them and spoke to them in parables:“ How can Satan drive out Satan?
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Mark 12:1
Then He began to speak to them in parables:“ A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away.
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Ezekiel 24:3-14
Now speak a parable to the rebellious house. Tell them: This is what the Lord God says: Put the pot on the fire— put it on, and then pour water into it!Place the pieces of meat in it, every good piece— thigh and shoulder. Fill it with choice bones.Take the choicest of the flock and also pile up the fuel under it. Bring it to a boil and cook the bones in it.”Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Woe to the city of bloodshed, the pot that has rust inside it, and whose rust will not come off! Empty it piece by piece; lots should not be cast for its contents.For the blood she shed is still within her. She put it out on the bare rock; she didn’t pour it on the ground to cover it with dust.In order to stir up wrath and take vengeance, I have put her blood on the bare rock, so that it would not be covered.Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Woe to the city of bloodshed! I Myself will make the pile of kindling large.Pile on the logs and kindle the fire! Cook the meat well and mix in the spices! Let the bones be burned!Set the empty pot on its coals so that it becomes hot and its copper glows. Then its impurity will melt inside it; its rust will be consumed.It has frustrated every effort; its thick rust will not come off. Into the fire with its rust!Because of the indecency of your uncleanness— since I tried to purify you, but you would not be purified from your uncleanness— you will not be pure again until I have satisfied My wrath on you.I, Yahweh, have spoken. It is coming, and I will do it! I will not refrain, I will not show pity, and I will not relent. I will judge you according to your ways and deeds. This is the declaration of the Lord God.
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Matthew 22:1
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables:
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Luke 8:10
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.
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Psalms 78:2
I will declare wise sayings; I will speak mysteries from the past—
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Psalms 49:4
I turn my ear to a proverb; I explain my riddle with a lyre.
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Ezekiel 17:2
“ Son of man, pose a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel.
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Habakkuk 2:6
Won’t all of these take up a taunt against him, with mockery and riddles about him? They will say: Woe to him who amasses what is not his— how much longer?— and loads himself with goods taken in pledge.