^8:9Then²⁸ his disciples asked him what this parable meant.²⁹^8:10He³⁰ said, “You have been given³¹ the opportunity to know³² the secrets³³ of the kingdom of God,³⁴ but for others they are in parables, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understand.³⁵

Read in Logos

Footnotes

28 Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
29 Grk “what this parable might be” (an optative after a secondary tense, in keeping with good Koine style).
30 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
31 This is an example of a so-called “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ).
32 Grk “it has been given to you to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.
33 Grk “the mysteries.” The key term secrets (μυστήριον, mustērion) can mean either (1) a new revelation or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation as in Dan 2:17–23, 27–30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the NT consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1–4; Heb 1:1–2). The traditional translation of this word, “mystery,” is misleading to the modern English reader because this English word suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).
34 The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20–21.
35 A quotation from Isa 6:9. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 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.’

NIVNew International Version (2011)

His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 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.’

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Then his disciples asked him, “What does this parable mean?” 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.

NLTNew Living Translation

His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 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.’

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And his disciples asked him what this parable meant. And he said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are in parables, so that

‘Seeing they may not see,

and hearing they may not understand.’

KJV 1900King James Version

And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? 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.

Public Domain