The Greek that is translated in English as the singular “heaven” but is actually a plural form in the original Greek is translated in that plural form in the Greek original (ouranōn or ouranois instead of the singular ouranos) are translated in the German translation by Fridolin Stier (1989) as the plural form “heavens” ((die) Himmel). Note that this is particularly often used in the Gospel of Matthew (see the referenced verses). The German translation of Walter Jens (publ. 1998) translates likewise.
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-kuchi (御国) or “kingdom (of God)” in the referenced verses. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
Another parable he put before them, saying is a word-for-word repetition of the introduction to the preceding parable (see verse 24).
The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed is the Greek translation of an Aramaic formula which means “It is the case with the kingdom of heaven as with a mustard seed” (see verse 24). As in verse 24, one way to begin the parable is to say “God’s rule is like this: a man took a mustard seed….” Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition renders “When God accomplishes his work, it will be as with a mustard seed which someone planted in a field.” INCL (“When God rules, the situation will be as in this parable: …”) and Malay common language version (“When God establishes his rule, the situation will be the same as with a mustard seed which the man took and planted in his garden”) are similar to their restructurings of verse 24.
A grain of mustard seed perpetuates a Semitic idiom; most modern English translations have “a mustard seed,” as does Good News Translation.
Since the verb sows implies more than one seed as an object, one may need to translate “a man takes some mustard seeds and sows them in his field.”
Mustard may not be known, so translators may say “a seed of a tree called mustard,” borrowing the term from the text they are following. The exact product of a mustard tree is not relevant here, but there is some value in retaining mustard since the tree is referred to in several places in the New Testament.
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 .
Jesus told the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast
In this section, Jesus told two parables: the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the yeast. These parables show something about the growth and size of God’s kingdom.
The parable about the mustard seed shows that God’s kingdom will grow from a very small beginning to a very large size. The size of God’s kingdom represents the number of people in the kingdom.
The parable of the yeast shows that God’s kingdom will spread throughout the world.
There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 4:30–32 and Luke 13:18–21.
Paragraph 13:31–32
13:31a
He put before them another parable: This clause is exactly the same as the clause in 13:24a.
Here are some other ways to translate it:
He told them another parable (New International Version)
-or-
This is another parable he gave them (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Then Jesus told another story (New Century Version)
13:31b–c
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed: This clause is a simile. It compares the kingdom of God to what happens when a mustard seed is planted. The Jewish people considered the mustard seed to be one of their smallest seeds. However, the mustard plant can grow to be a tree as large as three meters high.
The point of similarity in this comparison is the growth from something small to something large. Like the mustard plant, the kingdom of God is very small at its beginning, but it becomes very large.
The comparison is about the whole growth process, not just what the seed is like. One way to make this clear is:
The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a farmer plants a mustard seed in a field. (Contemporary English Version)
13:31b
The kingdom of heaven: This phrase last occurred in 13:24b. You should translate it here as you did there.
is like: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is like is very similar to the word translated as “is like” in 13:24b. This phrase introduces a comparison. Here Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
can be compared to
-or-
resembles
a mustard seed: The Berean Standard Bible translates the Greek phrase literally as a mustard seed. To Jewish people, the mustard seed was a symbol of smallness.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
• Use your word for seed and transliterate the word mustard according to the sounds of your language. For example:
a musutarade seed
-or-
a seed of ⌊the plant/tree called⌋ mutar
• Use a generic phrase. For example:
a tiny seed
• Use the name of a local seed that is known to be very small, but grows into a tree. If you use this option, you may want to indicate the literal name in a footnote. Here is a sample footnote:
The Greek text is literally “a mustard seed.”
Regardless of the way you translate mustard seed, you may want to add a footnote that explains the significance of mustard seed in the Jewish culture. For example:
For the Jews, the mustard seed was a symbol of something that was very small. But the mustard seed that was planted in the country of the Jews grew into a tree that grew up to three meters high.
13:31c
that a man: Here, the Greek includes a verb that means “picked up in his hand.” In some languages it may be natural to leave this action implicit, as the Berean Standard Bible has done. In other languages, it may be natural to include this action. For example:
that a man took and sowed in his field (English Standard Version)
planted in his field: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as planted is the same word as the word “sowed” throughout the parable of the sower. This word first occurs in 13:3b. Here the man does not sow many seeds. He only sows one. The method of planting is not in focus here. So you may use whatever term is natural in your language for planting this kind of seed in a vegetable garden or field.
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