As above in Matthew 13.2, And shows continuity. “Then” or “At that time” will serve just as well. Some languages do not need any word at all.
He told them many things in parables (Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition “He explained to them his message with the help of parables”): the Greek word translated parable literally means “comparison,” but its meaning is best derived from the Hebrew word which it translates in the Septuagint. Except in five instances, it always translates the same Hebrew word, which has a wide range of meanings: proverb, byword, allegory, fable, comparison, riddle, and parable. In recent years much scholarly research has been done on parables, and it is now the consensus that each parable is intended to convey only one point which concerns some aspect of the Kingdom of God. Jesus was not alone in the use of parables. Jewish teachers often used them, but as a rule they place parable and interpretation side by side. But Jesus did not provide the explanation along with the parable; instead he demanded of his hearers that they discern the truth of what he was saying, and that they respond accordingly.
A major problem in the interpretation of the parables is the realization that they reflect both the context in which Jesus lived and the contexts in which the authors of the Gospels wrote. Jesus’ parables were so powerful, and the forms made them so easily remembered, that they were readily taken over by the authors of the Gospels and applied to their own life situations in much the same way that happens in pulpits today. This makes it extremely difficult to uncover the “original” meaning that a parable may have had before the time that it was placed in a particular Gospel. Moreover, since the circumstances that gave rise to one Gospel differ from those which produced another Gospel, the meaning of a parable will vary according to the context in which it is placed by the author of the Gospel. Therefore a significant clue to the interpretation of the parables of this chapter is the arrangement which they have in relation to one another and to the total Gospel of Matthew.
Many languages have stories that teach, and translators should note how their language refers to these when rendering parables. Sometimes one word covers both “parables” and “proverbs.” In other cases a short phrase such as “stories that teach” or “stories with lessons” conveys the meaning.
This sentence can be restructured if necessary; for example, “He told them many parables to teach them things” and “He used parables to teach them his message” are examples. Instead of saying, most languages will more naturally have “he said.”
A sower went out to sow begins in Greek with “Behold” (see comments on 1.20), which reflects a natural way to introduce a story in Semitic Greek. Good News Translation shifts to a more acceptable introductory formula in English: “Once there was a man….” In other cases “There was a man” or “It happened once that a man” will serve to introduce the man. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, New American Bible, New International Version correctly define the sower as a “farmer.” This is helpful, too, in areas of the world where farmers plant seeds rather than sow them by scattering them. The sentence can begin “There was a farmer who….”
Went out can be rendered “went out to his fields” or “… to his farm.”
The matter of sowing has to be dealt with, since the farmer did sow. This is a way of planting seeds by scattering them over soil that has been hoed or otherwise turned and made ready for growing crops. A common rendering is “to plant crops by scattering (or, throwing) seeds on the field.” After the first occurrence in a narrative, this can be shortened to “scatter seed” or “throw seed.”
The Greek text does not explicitly define what it was the man went out to sow, but on the basis of the following verses it was obviously some sort of grain, and Good News Translation has made this information explicit: “to sow grain.” It is possible that a language which has no term for “grain” in general may also require an object for the verb sow. In the Palestinian situation the grain would have been either wheat or barley. Wheat was the favorite of the two grains, but barley was also grown, especially for animals, and it was quite frequently the grain of the poor. If wheat or barley are not known, then “seed” or “food crops” are common general words that languages use.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .