Luke 8:10

“And he said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.”
Luke 8:10 · direct translation from the Greek

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With the Greek beneath

Andδὲheὁsaid,εἶπεν“To youὙμῖνit has been givenδέδοταιto knowγνῶναιthe mysteriesτὰ μυστήριαof the kingdomτῆς βασιλείαςof God,τοῦ θεοῦbutδὲto the restτοῖς λοιποῖςit isinἐνparables,παραβολαῖςso thatἵναseeingβλέποντεςthey may notμὴsee,βλέπωσινandκαὶhearingἀκούοντεςthey may notμὴunderstand.συνιῶσιν

Allusion · Isaiah 6:9

Go to Isaiah 6:9

Both texts speak of looking without seeing and hearing without understanding (Isaiah 6:9).

They share words that are rare in the original, without a quotation.

βλέποντεςblepontesG991רְאוּreuH7200“see, look”
ἀκούοντεςakouontesG191שִׁמְעוּshimuH8085“hear, listen”
συνιῶσινsyniōsinG4920תָּבִינוּtavinuH995“understand”

Luke 8:10, word by word

saidεἶπενeipen

say

To express something in words to others.

Where else “eipen” appears

it has been givenδέδοταιdedotai

give

To hand something to another freely, as a gift.

Where else “dedotai” appears

to knowγνῶναιgnōnai

know

To be truly acquainted with someone, or grasp something fully.

Where else “gnōnai” appears

the mysteriesμυστήριαmystēria

mystery

Mystery: what was hidden and God makes known.

Where else “mystēria” appears

of the kingdomβασιλείαςbasileias

kingdom of God

God's rule, which comes with Jesus.

Where else “basileias” appears

of Godθεοῦtheou

God

The Creator and Lord of all, the one God of Israel.

Where else “theou” appears

to the restλοιποῖςloipois

rest

What remains of a group, those not yet named.

Where else “loipois” appears

parablesπαραβολαῖςparabolais

parable

A story from daily life that teaches about God.

Where else “parabolais” appears

seeingβλέποντεςblepontes

see

To use the eyes to perceive something; also to look with intent.

Where else “blepontes” appears

hearingἀκούοντεςakouontes

hear

To perceive a sound, a voice or words with the ears.

Where else “akouontes” appears

understandσυνιῶσινsyniōsin

understand

Understand, grasp.

Where else “syniōsin” appears

Translation note

Words of Isaiah 6:9.

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

Why Jesus speaks in parables

Matthew 13:10-17 Mark 4:10-12

See them side by side

Luke 8:9-10

⁹And his disciples were asking him what this parable might mean. ¹⁰And he said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

Matthew 13:10-17

¹⁰And the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹But he answered and said to them, “Because to you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ¹²For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ¹³This is why I speak to them in parables: because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will indeed hear and never understand, and you will indeed see and never perceive. ¹⁵For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they have heard with difficulty, and they have closed their eyes, so that they do not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I will heal them.’ ¹⁶But happy are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. ¹⁷For truly I tell you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Mark 4:10-12

¹⁰And when he was alone, those around him with the Twelve were asking him about the parables. ¹¹And he was saying to them, “To you the mystery of the kingdom of God has been given; but for those outside, everything comes in parables, ¹²so that ‘seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest they turn and it be forgiven them.’”

The context

9And his disciples were asking him what this parable might mean.

10 · This verse (above)

11Now this is the parable: the seed is the word of God.

Read all of Luke 8

To study Luke 8 in a group

1. What it says
In the parable of the sower, on what four kinds of ground does the seed fall, and what happens in each? (vv. 5-8)
2. What it means
Jesus explains that the seed is the word of God (v. 11). What makes some people receive it well and others not? (vv. 12-15)
3. How I live it
Jesus told the healed man, “Tell how much God has done for you.” What could you tell someone this week? (v. 39)

How to use it