What Does the Bible Say About Parables?

“The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.”

“But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? go: or, go up and down for other trees”

“And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.”

“But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?”

“Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.”

“And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?”

“Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. bramble: or, thistle”

“And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.”

“And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.”

“The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:”

“But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. meat: Heb. morsel”

“And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.”

“And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: shall: or, is worthy to die, or, is a son of death”

“And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

“And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead.”

“And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him. none: Heb. no deliverer between them”

“And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth. upon: Heb. upon the face of the earth”

“And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house, and I will give charge concerning thee.”

“And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house: and the king and his throne be guiltless.”

“And the king said, Whosoever saith ought unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.”

“Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the LORD thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth. that: Heb. that the revenger of blood do not multiply to destroy”

“Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.”

“And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:”

“And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:”

“(But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)”

“And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. pay: Heb. weigh”

“And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it. he was: Heb. he was not”

“And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.”

“And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.”

“And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.”

“Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.”

“Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.”

“The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. goodly: Heb. cedars of God”

“She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.”

“Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?”

“The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.”

“Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;”

“And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.”

“It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.”

“Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: a very: Heb. the horn of the son of oil”

“And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. fenced: or, made a wall about made: Heb. hewed”

“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.”

“What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?”

“And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: trodden: Heb. for a treading”

“And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.”

“For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. his: Heb. plant of his pleasures oppression: Heb. a scab”

“In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine .”

“I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.”

“Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.”

“Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?”

“When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place? the principal: or, the wheat in the principal place, and barley in the appointed place rie: or, spelt place: Heb. border?”

“For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. For: or, And he bindeth it in such sort as his God doth teach him”

“For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.”

“Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.”

“This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.”

“Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?”

“Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.”

“And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them. one: Heb. a man against his brother but: Heb. from destroying them”

“And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,”

“Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?”

“Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?”

“Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any work? Is it: Heb. Will it prosper?”

“Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned? meet: Heb. made fit”

“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

“And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I set my face against them.”

“And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord GOD. committed: Heb. trespassed a trespass”

“He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree. planted: Heb. put it in a field of seed”

“And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.”

“There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation.”

“It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. soil: Heb. field”

“Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.”

“Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.”

“Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,”

“And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.”

“And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.”

“The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.”

“Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.”

“And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men.”

“And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring. their desolate: or, their widows the fulness: or, all it containeth”

“Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit.”

“And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel. in chains: or, in hooks”

“Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood , planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. in: or, in thy quietness, or, in thy likeness”

“And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.”

“But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.”

“And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.”

“And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.”

“And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:”

“Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.”

“Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein. burn: or, heap”

“Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night , and perished in a night : had pity: or, spared came: Heb. was the son of the night”

“And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”

“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:”

“And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.”

“And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:”

“And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”

“And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.”

“No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. new: or, raw, or, unwrought”

“Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. bottles: or, sacks of skin, or, leather”

“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.”

“And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;”