Paragraph 8:11–15

8:11a

In this paragraph Jesus continued to speak, but he did not continue the quotation from the Old Testament in 8:10. He began to answer the question that the disciples asked in 8:9. In some languages it may be natural to introduce this in some way. For example:

Jesus continued
-or-
Then Jesus said

Now this is the meaning of the parable: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now this is the meaning of the parable introduces the explanation of the parable in 8:1–8b. Introduce this explanation in a natural way in your language.

For advice on ways to translate the word parable, see the note at 8:4b. This word also occurs in 8:9 and 8:10b.

8:11b

The seed is the word of God: The seed is a metaphor for the word of God. Other ways to say this are:

The seed represents God’s Word.
-or-
The seed is ⌊like⌋ God’s message.

seed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as seed and the English word seed are singular in form. However, the same form is used to refer to many seeds. In some languages it may be necessary to use a plural form here. See the note on “seed” at 8:5a. The farmer was probably sowing a type of grain. As you translate 8:11–15, be sure to use the same word for seed that you used in 8:4–8.

the word of God: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the word of God means “the word that comes from God” or “the message that God has sent.” Jesus was referring here primarily to his own teaching. He was probably referring specifically to what he taught about the kingdom of God, to which he referred in 8:10.

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