1
⸀Ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐξελθὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ⸀τῆς οἰκίας ἐκάθητο παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν·
On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting beside the sea;
2
καὶ συνήχθησαν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὄχλοι πολλοί, ὥστε αὐτὸν ⸀εἰς πλοῖον ἐμβάντα καθῆσθαι, καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος ἐπὶ τὸν αἰγιαλὸν εἱστήκει.
and large crowds gathered to him, so that he got into a boat and sat, and all the crowd stood on the shore.
3
καὶ ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς πολλὰ ἐν παραβολαῖς λέγων· Ἰδοὺ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπείρειν.
And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Look, the sower went out to sow.
4
καὶ ἐν τῷ σπείρειν αὐτὸν ἃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ ⸂ἐλθόντα τὰ πετεινὰ⸃ κατέφαγεν αὐτά.
And as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and the birds came and devoured them.
5
ἄλλα δὲ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη ὅπου οὐκ εἶχεν γῆν πολλήν, καὶ εὐθέως ἐξανέτειλεν διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν βάθος γῆς,
Others fell on the rocky ground where they did not have much soil, and at once they sprang up, because the soil had no depth;
6
ἡλίου δὲ ἀνατείλαντος ἐκαυματίσθη καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ῥίζαν ἐξηράνθη.
but when the sun rose they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered.
7
ἄλλα δὲ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὰς ἀκάνθας, καὶ ἀνέβησαν αἱ ἄκανθαι καὶ ⸀ἔπνιξαν αὐτά.
Others fell on the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them.
8
ἄλλα δὲ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν τὴν καλὴν καὶ ἐδίδου καρπόν, ὃ μὲν ἑκατὸν ὃ δὲ ἑξήκοντα ὃ δὲ τριάκοντα.
But others fell on the good soil and were yielding fruit — one a hundred, one sixty, one thirty.
9
ὁ ἔχων ⸀ὦτα ἀκουέτω.
Let the one who has ears hear.”
10
Καὶ προσελθόντες οἱ μαθηταὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· Διὰ τί ἐν παραβολαῖς λαλεῖς αὐτοῖς;
And the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
11
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν ⸀αὐτοῖς· Ὅτι ὑμῖν δέδοται γνῶναι τὰ μυστήρια τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἐκείνοις δὲ οὐ δέδοται.
And answering he said to them, “Because to you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it has not been given.
12
ὅστις γὰρ ἔχει, δοθήσεται αὐτῷ καὶ περισσευθήσεται· ὅστις δὲ οὐκ ἔχει, καὶ ὃ ἔχει ἀρθήσεται ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ.
For whoever has, it will be given to him and he will have more than enough; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.
13
διὰ τοῦτο ἐν παραβολαῖς αὐτοῖς λαλῶ, ὅτι βλέποντες οὐ βλέπουσιν καὶ ἀκούοντες οὐκ ἀκούουσιν οὐδὲ συνίουσιν·
This is why I speak to them in parables: because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14
καὶ ἀναπληροῦται αὐτοῖς ἡ προφητεία Ἠσαΐου ἡ λέγουσα· Ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε, καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε.
And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is filled up, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and never understand, and seeing you will see and never perceive.
15
ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου, καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν βαρέως ἤκουσαν, καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν ἐκάμμυσαν· μήποτε ἴδωσιν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκούσωσιν καὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ συνῶσιν καὶ ἐπιστρέψωσιν, καὶ ἰάσομαι αὐτούς.
For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they heard heavily, and their eyes they closed — lest they see with the eyes and hear with the ears and understand with the heart and turn, and I heal them.'
16
ὑμῶν δὲ μακάριοι οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ὅτι βλέπουσιν, καὶ τὰ ὦτα ὑμῶν ὅτι ⸀ἀκούουσιν.
But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
17
ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πολλοὶ προφῆται καὶ δίκαιοι ἐπεθύμησαν ἰδεῖν ἃ βλέπετε καὶ οὐκ εἶδαν, καὶ ἀκοῦσαι ἃ ἀκούετε καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσαν.
For Amen I say to 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.
18
Ὑμεῖς οὖν ἀκούσατε τὴν παραβολὴν τοῦ ⸀σπείραντος.
So hear the parable of the one who sowed.
19
παντὸς ἀκούοντος τὸν λόγον τῆς βασιλείας καὶ μὴ συνιέντος, ἔρχεται ὁ πονηρὸς καὶ ἁρπάζει τὸ ἐσπαρμένον ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ· οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν σπαρείς.
For everyone hearing the word of the kingdom and not understanding it, the evil one comes and seizes what was sown in his heart; this is the one sown beside the road.
20
ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη σπαρείς, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τὸν λόγον ἀκούων καὶ εὐθὺς μετὰ χαρᾶς λαμβάνων αὐτόν,
And the one sown on the rocky ground — this is the one hearing the word and at once receiving it with joy;
21
οὐκ ἔχει δὲ ῥίζαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἀλλὰ πρόσκαιρός ἐστιν, γενομένης δὲ θλίψεως ἢ διωγμοῦ διὰ τὸν λόγον εὐθὺς σκανδαλίζεται.
but he has no root in himself and is temporary, and when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word he at once stumbles.
22
ὁ δὲ εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας σπαρείς, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τὸν λόγον ἀκούων, καὶ ἡ μέριμνα τοῦ αἰῶνος ⸀τούτου καὶ ἡ ἀπάτη τοῦ πλούτου συμπνίγει τὸν λόγον, καὶ ἄκαρπος γίνεται.
And the one sown into the thorns — this is the one hearing the word, and the worry of this age and the deceit of wealth choke the word, and it becomes fruitless.
23
ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ⸂καλὴν γῆν⸃ σπαρείς, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τὸν λόγον ἀκούων καὶ ⸀συνιείς, ὃς δὴ καρποφορεῖ καὶ ποιεῖ ὃ μὲν ἑκατὸν ὃ δὲ ἑξήκοντα ὃ δὲ τριάκοντα.
But the one sown on the good soil — this is the one hearing the word and understanding it, who indeed bears fruit and produces one a hundred, one sixty, one thirty.”
24
Ἄλλην παραβολὴν παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς λέγων· Ὡμοιώθη ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ ⸀σπείραντι καλὸν σπέρμα ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ αὐτοῦ.
He set another parable before them, saying: “The kingdom of the heavens has become like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
25
ἐν δὲ τῷ καθεύδειν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἦλθεν αὐτοῦ ὁ ἐχθρὸς καὶ ⸀ἐπέσπειρεν ζιζάνια ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σίτου καὶ ἀπῆλθεν.
But while people were sleeping his enemy came and sowed weeds over, among the wheat, and went away.
Why this rendering
Matt.13.25 Observation
Syntactic observation
ζιζάνιον occurs eight times in Matthew (13:25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 36, 38, 40) and not at all in Mark or John — the parable itself is Matthew's alone. The lexica record the word as a weed resembling wheat, and the parable stands on that resemblance: at v.26 it is only when the crop bears fruit that τότε ἐφάνη, then it appeared — meaning that while growing they were indistinguishable. The verb is notable too: ἐπισπείρω is σπείρω with ἐπι-, over or in addition — to sow on top of what was sown — and it occurs only here in this corpus. And the reason the master gives at v.29 for not pulling them is ἐκριζώσητε ἅμα αὐτοῖς τὸν σῖτον, lest you uproot the wheat along with them; that the roots are tangled is stated by this sentence rather than by any word. The interpretation at 37-43 names the elements one by one — sower, field, good seed, weeds, enemy, harvest, harvesters: seven in order. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀ἐπέσπειρεν).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “weeds” — a wheat-like weed, species unspecified
Basis The text does not name the plant, only implies the resemblance; the species is left open.
Name the species, e.g. “darnel”
Basis Renders it as the plant the lexica identify.
Rejected Naming the species has the translation specify what the text does not. What the parable needs is only that it resembles wheat, and v.26 says that itself.
26
ὅτε δὲ ἐβλάστησεν ὁ χόρτος καὶ καρπὸν ἐποίησεν, τότε ἐφάνη καὶ τὰ ζιζάνια.
And when the crop sprouted and produced fruit, then the weeds appeared too.
27
προσελθόντες δὲ οἱ δοῦλοι τοῦ οἰκοδεσπότου εἶπον αὐτῷ· Κύριε, οὐχὶ καλὸν σπέρμα ⸀ἔσπειρας ἐν τῷ σῷ ἀγρῷ; πόθεν οὖν ἔχει ζιζάνια;
And the slaves of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where then did it get weeds?'
28
ὁ δὲ ἔφη αὐτοῖς· Ἐχθρὸς ἄνθρωπος τοῦτο ἐποίησεν. οἱ δὲ ⸂δοῦλοι αὐτῷ λέγουσιν⸃· Θέλεις οὖν ἀπελθόντες ⸀συλλέξωμεν αὐτά;
And he said to them, ‘An enemy of a man did this.' And the slaves say to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them?'
29
ὁ δέ ⸀φησιν· Οὔ, μήποτε συλλέγοντες τὰ ζιζάνια ἐκριζώσητε ἅμα αὐτοῖς τὸν σῖτον·
But he says, ‘No — lest in gathering the weeds you uproot the wheat along with them.
30
ἄφετε συναυξάνεσθαι ἀμφότερα ⸀μέχρι τοῦ θερισμοῦ· καὶ ἐν καιρῷ τοῦ θερισμοῦ ἐρῶ τοῖς θερισταῖς· Συλλέξατε πρῶτον τὰ ζιζάνια καὶ δήσατε αὐτὰ εἰς δέσμας πρὸς τὸ κατακαῦσαι αὐτά, τὸν δὲ σῖτον ⸀συναγάγετε εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην μου.
Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the harvesters: gather the weeds first and bind them into bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.'”
31
Ἄλλην παραβολὴν παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς λέγων· Ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν κόκκῳ σινάπεως, ὃν λαβὼν ἄνθρωπος ἔσπειρεν ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ αὐτοῦ·
He set another parable before them, saying: “The kingdom of the heavens is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;
32
ὃ μικρότερον μέν ἐστιν πάντων τῶν σπερμάτων, ὅταν δὲ αὐξηθῇ μεῖζον τῶν λαχάνων ἐστὶν καὶ γίνεται δένδρον, ὥστε ἐλθεῖν τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ κατασκηνοῦν ἐν τοῖς κλάδοις αὐτοῦ.
it is smaller than all the seeds, but when it has grown it is greater than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”
33
Ἄλλην παραβολὴν ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς· Ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ζύμῃ, ἣν λαβοῦσα γυνὴ ⸀ἐνέκρυψεν εἰς ἀλεύρου σάτα τρία ἕως οὗ ἐζυμώθη ὅλον.
He spoke another parable to them: “The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid inside three sata of flour until the whole was leavened.”
Why this rendering
Matt.13.33 Observation
Syntactic observation
σάτον is a measure and occurs at two places in this corpus — here and Luke 13:21, the same parable. The lexica record it as the Hebrew seah (סְאָה) in Greek letters. This project has transliterated measures and coins (lepton, kodrantes, modios, milion), and the same handling applies. And a number is attached — σάτα τρία, three sata: the text counts the quantity. ζύμη, leaven, stands four times in Matthew (13:33, 16:6, 11, 12), twice in Mark (8:15) and twice in Luke (12:1, 13:21). At ch. 16 it is a negative word for the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees, while here the kingdom is likened to it — one word running two ways. Luke 12:1 goes so far as to gloss the negative use: ἥτις ἐστὶν ὑπόκρισις, which is hypocrisy. The verb repays attention too: ἐνέκρυψεν is κρύπτω with ἐν-, hid inside, sharing its root with the treasure hidden in the field at v.44 of the same chapter (κεκρυμμένῳ … ἔκρυψεν). The leaven is not put in but hidden. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀ἐνέκρυψεν).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “hid in three sata of flour” — transliterated, and hid
Basis Transliterating measures is fixed for this corpus, and hid keeps the root shared with v.44.
“mixed into three measures of flour”
Basis Uses a familiar measure and a natural verb.
Rejected 말 imports a Korean measure the text does not have, and mixed severs the root shared with hid at v.44. Having already transliterated modios and milion, there is no ground for a conventional measure only here.
34
Ταῦτα πάντα ἐλάλησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐν παραβολαῖς τοῖς ὄχλοις, καὶ χωρὶς παραβολῆς ⸀οὐδὲν ἐλάλει αὐτοῖς·
All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and without a parable he spoke nothing to them;
35
ὅπως πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· Ἀνοίξω ἐν παραβολαῖς τὸ στόμα μου, ἐρεύξομαι κεκρυμμένα ἀπὸ ⸀καταβολῆς.
so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will pour out things hidden from the foundation.”
Why this rendering
Matt.13.35 Observation
Syntactic observation
The fulfilment formula arrives in yet another shape. Set this book's introductions side by side: 1:22 and 2:15 have ὑπὸ κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου, by the Lord through the prophet; 2:17, 4:14 and 12:17 have διά with the prophet's name (Jeremiah, Isaiah); 2:23 has διὰ τῶν προφητῶν, through the prophets, plural and unnamed; and 13:35 has διὰ τοῦ προφήτου — singular and unnamed. Four shapes within one book. The quotation itself is notable — ἐρεύξομαι is closer to pour out or belch forth and occurs only here in the corpus, while κεκρυμμένα, hidden things, shares its root with 13:33 and 13:44 in this same chapter. And ἀπὸ καταβολῆς is not followed by κόσμου, of the world — SBLGNT marks the place, and the Textus Receptus line prints κόσμου. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀καταβολῆς.).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “spoken through the prophet” · “I will pour out things hidden from the foundation”
Basis Keeps the unnamed singular and does not supply κόσμου; the four differing formulas are the datum.
Supply a prophet's name, or add of the world
Basis Completes the source and the phrase.
Rejected The name is not in the text and κόσμου is not in the base text. That Matthew uses four shapes of the formula is visible only by counting, and filling in reduces them to three.
36
Τότε ἀφεὶς τοὺς ὄχλους ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν ⸀οἰκίαν. καὶ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ λέγοντες· ⸀Διασάφησον ἡμῖν τὴν παραβολὴν τῶν ζιζανίων τοῦ ἀγροῦ.
Then leaving the crowds he went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”
37
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς ⸀εἶπεν· Ὁ σπείρων τὸ καλὸν σπέρμα ἐστὶν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου·
And answering he said, “The one sowing the good seed is the Son of Man;
38
ὁ δὲ ἀγρός ἐστιν ὁ κόσμος· τὸ δὲ καλὸν σπέρμα, οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ υἱοὶ τῆς βασιλείας· τὰ δὲ ζιζάνιά εἰσιν οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ πονηροῦ,
and the field is the world; and the good seed — these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one;
39
ὁ δὲ ἐχθρὸς ὁ σπείρας αὐτά ἐστιν ὁ διάβολος· ὁ δὲ θερισμὸς συντέλεια ⸀αἰῶνός ἐστιν, οἱ δὲ θερισταὶ ἄγγελοί εἰσιν.
and the enemy who sowed them is the slanderer; and the harvest is the completion of the age; and the harvesters are angels.
40
ὥσπερ οὖν συλλέγεται τὰ ζιζάνια καὶ πυρὶ ⸀καίεται, οὕτως ἔσται ἐν τῇ συντελείᾳ τοῦ ⸀αἰῶνος·
So just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the completion of the age.
41
ἀποστελεῖ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ, καὶ συλλέξουσιν ἐκ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ πάντα τὰ σκάνδαλα καὶ τοὺς ποιοῦντας τὴν ἀνομίαν,
The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom everything that causes stumbling and those who work lawlessness,
42
καὶ βαλοῦσιν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν κάμινον τοῦ πυρός· ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων.
and will throw them into the furnace of fire. There there will be the weeping and the grinding of teeth.
43
Τότε οἱ δίκαιοι ἐκλάμψουσιν ὡς ὁ ἥλιος ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν. ὁ ἔχων ⸀ὦτα ἀκουέτω.
Then the righteous will shine out like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let the one who has ears hear.
44
⸀Ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν θησαυρῷ κεκρυμμένῳ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ, ὃν εὑρὼν ἄνθρωπος ἔκρυψεν, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ ὑπάγει καὶ ⸂πωλεῖ πάντα ὅσα ἔχει⸃ καὶ ἀγοράζει τὸν ἀγρὸν ἐκεῖνον.
The kingdom of the heavens is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and from his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field.
45
Πάλιν ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ⸀ἀνθρώπῳ ἐμπόρῳ ζητοῦντι καλοὺς μαργαρίτας·
Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant seeking good pearls;
46
⸂εὑρὼν δὲ⸃ ἕνα πολύτιμον μαργαρίτην ἀπελθὼν πέπρακεν πάντα ὅσα εἶχεν καὶ ἠγόρασεν αὐτόν.
and finding one costly pearl, he went and sold all he had and bought it.
47
Πάλιν ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν σαγήνῃ βληθείσῃ εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ ἐκ παντὸς γένους συναγαγούσῃ·
Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a dragnet thrown into the sea and gathering from every kind;
Why this rendering
Matt.13.47 Observation
Syntactic observation
The net arrives here as a third word in this book. 4:18 has ἀμφίβληστρον, the circular casting-net; 4:20-21 δίκτυον, a net in general; and 13:47 σαγήνη — which the lexica record as a large dragnet drawn between boats. All three are in Matthew; Mark uses only δίκτυον (1:18, 19). σαγήνη occurs only here in this corpus. The word meshes with the parable's content: ἐκ παντὸς γένους συναγαγούσῃ, gathering from every kind, requires a net that sweeps rather than selects — and so v.48 follows with the sorting of good from rotten afterwards. The structure matches the weeds of the same chapter (24-30, 36-43): mixed now, separated at the end. And vv.42 and 50 close on the same sentence — Matthew's six-times formula, the weeping and the grinding of teeth.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “dragnet” — kept apart from the casting-net of 4:18 and the nets of 4:20
Basis Three words in Matthew get three renderings; here a sweeping net is what makes gathering from every kind work.
nets in all three places
Basis One word reads more easily.
Rejected Matthew used three words and Mark one. Merging erases the difference in lexical range between the authors, and blurs why this parable can speak of every kind.
48
ἣν ὅτε ἐπληρώθη ἀναβιβάσαντες ἐπὶ τὸν αἰγιαλὸν καὶ καθίσαντες συνέλεξαν τὰ καλὰ εἰς ⸀ἄγγη, τὰ δὲ σαπρὰ ἔξω ἔβαλον.
which, when it was full, they drew up onto the shore, and sitting down they gathered the good into vessels, but the rotten they threw out.
49
οὕτως ἔσται ἐν τῇ συντελείᾳ τοῦ αἰῶνος· ἐξελεύσονται οἱ ἄγγελοι καὶ ἀφοριοῦσιν τοὺς πονηροὺς ἐκ μέσου τῶν δικαίων
So will it be at the completion of the age: the angels will go out and separate the evil from among the righteous
50
καὶ βαλοῦσιν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν κάμινον τοῦ πυρός· ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων.
and throw them into the furnace of fire. There there will be the weeping and the grinding of teeth.”
51
⸀Συνήκατε ταῦτα πάντα; λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· ⸀Ναί.
“Have you understood all these things?” They say to him, “Yes.”
52
ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Διὰ τοῦτο πᾶς γραμματεὺς μαθητευθεὶς ⸂τῇ βασιλείᾳ⸃ τῶν οὐρανῶν ὅμοιός ἐστιν ἀνθρώπῳ οἰκοδεσπότῃ ὅστις ἐκβάλλει ἐκ τοῦ θησαυροῦ αὐτοῦ καινὰ καὶ παλαιά.
And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe discipled to the kingdom of the heavens is like a master of a house who brings out of his store new things and old.”
53
καὶ ἐγένετο ὅτε ἐτέλεσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὰς παραβολὰς ταύτας, μετῆρεν ἐκεῖθεν.
And when Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there.
54
καὶ ἐλθὼν εἰς τὴν πατρίδα αὐτοῦ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ αὐτῶν, ὥστε ἐκπλήσσεσθαι αὐτοὺς καὶ λέγειν· Πόθεν τούτῳ ἡ σοφία αὕτη καὶ αἱ δυνάμεις;
And coming to his hometown he was teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astounded and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these works of power?
55
οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός; ⸀οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται Μαριὰμ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ Ἰάκωβος καὶ ⸀Ἰωσὴφ καὶ Σίμων καὶ Ἰούδας;
Is this not the carpenter's son? Is his mother not called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
Why this rendering
Matt.13.55 Observation
Syntactic observation
In the same scene the two books introduce the man differently. Mark 6:3: οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τέκτων, ὁ υἱὸς τῆς Μαρίας — is this not the **carpenter**, the son of Mary? Matthew 13:55: οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός — is this not the **carpenter's son**? Mark attaches the trade to Jesus himself; Matthew attaches it to the father. The parent named divides too: Mark says son of Mary and names no father; Matthew names him by the father's trade and then gives the mother's name separately. τέκτων occurs once in each book (Matt 13:55, Mark 6:3), landing on a different person, and is absent from Luke and John altogether. Luke 4:22, in the same scene, has Οὐχὶ υἱός ἐστιν Ἰωσὴφ οὗτος, is this not Joseph's son — **the father's name given and the trade withheld.** Three ways, then: Mark the trade only (of Jesus), Matthew the trade only (of the father, unnamed), Luke the name only (no trade). The order of the brothers' names differs as well — Mark: James, Joses, Judas, Simon; Matthew: James, Joseph, Simon, Judas — and the second name itself divides between Ἰωσῆτος and Ἰωσήφ. SBLGNT marks a variant in this verse (⸀οὐχ ⸀Ἰωσὴφ).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “Is this not the carpenter's son?” — kept apart from Mark 6:3's the carpenter
Basis Renders each book as printed. Whom the trade attaches to is the difference between them, and it is not harmonised.
Level both to the carpenter's son
Basis One man, one description.
Rejected Mark calls Jesus himself ὁ τέκτων. Levelling erases a statement found only in Mark, and with it the fact that τέκτων lands once in each book on a different person.
56
καὶ αἱ ἀδελφαὶ αὐτοῦ οὐχὶ πᾶσαι πρὸς ἡμᾶς εἰσιν; πόθεν οὖν τούτῳ ταῦτα πάντα;
And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”
57
καὶ ἐσκανδαλίζοντο ἐν αὐτῷ. ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Οὐκ ἔστιν προφήτης ἄτιμος εἰ μὴ ἐν τῇ ⸀πατρίδι καὶ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ.
And they were made to stumble because of him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his hometown and in his own house.”
58
καὶ οὐκ ἐποίησεν ἐκεῖ δυνάμεις πολλὰς διὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν αὐτῶν.
And he did not do many works of power there, because of their unbelief.