Passage

Matthew 13.44

Book: Matthew · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"42. and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear."

"44. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid; and in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field."

"45. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls: 46. and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it." (Matthew 13:42-46, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"42. and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 43. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

"44. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field."

"45. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46. who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it." (Matthew 13:42-46, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"42. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."

"44. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field."

"45. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46. Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." (Matthew 13:42-46, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"42. and shall cast them to the furnace of the fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth. 43. 'Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the reign of their Father. He who is having ears to hear, let him hear."

"44. 'Again, the reign of the heavens is like to treasure hid in the field, which a man having found did hide, and from his joy goeth, and all, as much as he hath, he selleth, and buyeth that field."

"45. 'Again, the reign of the heavens is like to a man, a merchant, seeking goodly pearls, 46. who having found one pearl of great price, having gone away, hath sold all, as much as he had, and bought it." (Matthew 13:42-46, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Matthew (traditionally) the tax-collector-apostle / narrator + Jesus's parabolic teaching
Audience: Jewish-Christian audience (heavy OT-fulfillment emphasis)
Location: first-century Palestine (events); possibly Antioch (composition)
Time period: events c. 4 BC, AD 30/33; composed c. AD 60-80

Theological reading

Matthew 13:44 is one of Jesus's signature kingdom parables, featuring the hiddenness of the kingdom-treasure as a positive feature of the seeker's discovery. Deployed in Divine Hiddenness discussion as the parabolic counterpart to the cost-of-discipleship reading: the kingdom is found, not handed over. For full theological treatment, see Lesson 4.2, Divine Hiddenness. The book of Matthew hub (Matthew) provides higher-level theological context.

Quoted in

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.