Matthew 13:31-35

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

31 He put another parable before them, saying, ¹"The kingdom of heaven is like ²a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."

33 He told them another parable. ³"The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ⁴three measures of flour, till it was ⁵all leavened."

Prophecy and Parables

34 ⁶All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable.

35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:^[a]7"I will open my mouth in parables; ⁸I will utter what has been hidden ⁹since the foundation of the world."