Passage

Matthew 13.32

Book: Matthew · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

30. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn. 31. Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

32. which indeed is less than all seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and lodge in the branches thereof.

Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened. 34. All these things spake Jesus in parables unto the multitudes; and without a parable spake he nothing unto them: (Matthew 13:30-34, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

30. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” 31. He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field;

32. which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.”

He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.” 34. Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them, (Matthew 13:30-34, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

30. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. 31. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

32. Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. ^{measures: the word in the Greek is a measure containing about a peck and a half, wanting a little more than a pint} 34. All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: (Matthew 13:30-34, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

30. suffer both to grow together till the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the darnel, and bind it in bundles, to burn it, and the wheat gather up into my storehouse.' 31. Another simile he set before them, saying: 'The reign of the heavens is like to a grain of mustard, which a man having taken, did sow in his field,

32. which less, indeed, is than all the seeds, but when it may be grown, is greatest of the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven do come and rest in its branches.'

Another simile spake he to them: 'The reign of the heavens is like to leaven, which a woman having taken, hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.' 34. All these things spake Jesus in similes to the multitudes, and without a simile he was not speaking to them, (Matthew 13:30-34, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Jesus (within Matthew's narrative; the Matthean parallel to Mark 4:31-32)
Audience: the crowds gathered by the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 13:2); private explanation to the disciples in v. 36
Location: the lakeside of the Sea of Galilee; Jesus teaching from a boat
Time period: events c. AD 30; Matthew composed c. AD 60-80

Theological reading

The verse is the second half of Matthew's mustard-seed parable, paralleling Mark 4:31-32 and Luke 13:18-19. The parable belongs to Matthew's chapter-13 collection of seven Kingdom parables, sequenced to teach the surprising shape of God's reign as it advances in the world.

Two textual differences between Matthew's account and Mark's are worth noting. Matthew specifies the seed is sown "in his field" (v. 31) rather than Mark's more general "upon the earth," which slightly tightens the agricultural sowing context. Matthew also explicitly calls the grown plant a δένδρον ("tree") in v. 32, where Mark uses the more general λάχανον ("herb") with great branches. The Matthean expansion underscores the prophetic-imagery payoff: kingdoms as great trees in which birds nest, drawn from Dan 4:20-22 and Ezek 17:22-24.

The prefatory clause ("which indeed is less than all seeds") has generated a popular skeptical objection that Jesus erred botanically. For the focused defeater treatment, see Mustard Seed Smallest Seed Objection Defeater. The summary: the Greek's agricultural sowing context, Jewish proverbial usage of mustard-seed-as-smallness, parabolic genre conventions, and phenomenological speech together establish the natural reading as the seeds Palestinian farmers cultivate, not the seeds in modern global botanical taxonomy.

The parable's actual claim is about the Kingdom's growth-trajectory: tiny beginning, surprising outcome, comprehensive shelter for the peoples. That claim has been borne out historically. A Galilean rabbi and twelve disciples became a faith spanning continents and centuries. The mustard-seed image is the set-piece; the Kingdom expansion is the load-bearing point.

Key words

σίναπι (sinapi), "mustard seed." Jewish proverbial image for extreme smallness; appears in rabbinic literature and in Jesus' teaching elsewhere (Matt 17:20; Luke 17:6) as the proverbial smallest cultivated seed.
σπείρω (speirō), "to sow." The agricultural verb that sets the reference class for the "smallest seed" comparison.
δένδρον (dendron), "tree." Matthew's word for the grown plant; invokes the OT kingdom-as-tree imagery of Dan 4:20-22 and Ezek 17:22-24.
βασιλεία (basileia), "kingdom, reign." Matthew's "Kingdom of Heaven" (basileia tōn ouranōn) is his characteristic reverential circumlocution for what Mark calls the Kingdom of God; the theological subject of the whole chapter-13 parable cluster.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Bible Scientific Errors Objection
Divine Conservationism, via Matthew 13.31-32
Jesus Said, via Matthew 13
Kingdom of God, via Matthew 13.31-33

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.