Paragraph 13:33

13:33a

He told them still another parable: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as told is the same word as in 13:3a. It is not “put before” as in 13:24a and 13:31a. However, the meaning is the same in all four places.

13:33b–c

The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour: As in the previous parable, this clause is a simile. It compares the kingdom of God to what happens when leaven/yeast is mixed with bread dough. A small amount of yeast spreads through a large amount of dough and affects it in a good way. In the same way, the effect of God’s rule among a few people spreads through the whole world.

This simile is about the effect of yeast in a lump of dough. It is not simply a description of what yeast itself is like. Here are some ways to make this clear:

The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a woman mixes a little yeast into three big batches of flour. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A woman takes some yeast and mixes it with a bushel of flour (Good News Translation)

13:33c

leaven: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as leaven means “yeast.” It refers to a substance that makes bread dough rise/swell. A person mixes this substance with water and flour. Then it spreads throughout the flour and makes the dough expand. The dough is then baked into bread.

Here are some other ways to translate leaven:

• Use an expression that describes the yeast. For example:

what spreads to make bread rise
-or-
bread-expanding substance
-or-
what spreads through the bread dough and causes it to rise/swell

• Use a term from the national language and indicate its meaning. For example:

yeast that spreads to make bread swell

• Borrow a word and explain it in a footnote. Here is an example of a possible footnote:

Yeast is something that spreads in flour dough and causes it to rise so that after the dough is baked, it is soft to eat.

a woman took: In this context the word took means “picked up in her hand.” In some languages, it may be more natural to translate this verb and the next verb (hid) together as one verb. For example:

a woman mixes (Contemporary English Version)

and mixed into: In this context, the phrase mixed into refers to placing something inside of something else. In this case, it refers to placing the small amount of yeast into the large amount of flour.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

put (New Living Translation (2004))

Although some English versions translates this word as “hid,” it does not refer to hiding something so that no one can see it or find it.

three measures of flour: The term three measures refers to a large amount. It could have been as much as twenty-three kilograms of flour. Here, the exact amount is not in focus. What is important is that it refers to a very large amount of flour.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

much flour
-or-
a large amount of flour (God’s Word)

13:33d

until all of it was leavened: This clause indicates that the leaven/yeast spread throughout all the flour and caused all of it to rise.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

until it caused the flour to rise

-or-

it spread through the whole lump of dough and caused it to rise

General Comment on 13:33a–d

If people in your area do not understand the parable of the leaven, you may want to include a footnote to explain it. A sample footnote is:

A small amount of yeast can spread throughout a large amount of flour. In the same way, the kingdom of God started small with just a few disciples and grew. It continues to spread throughout the whole world and affect it in a good way.

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