Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “What is God’s Kingdom like? To what shall I compare it?
- BSB Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?
- NKJV Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?
- NASB So He was saying, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it?
- NLT Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus asks what God's kingdom is like and how to compare it. He turns from controversy to teaching the nature of the kingdom He brings.
Overview
The healing just performed is itself a sign of the kingdom's arrival, prompting these parables. By posing the question, Jesus invites reflection on a kingdom that often looks small and hidden. The two following parables answer how God's reign grows and works in the world.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Mark 4:30–34And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
- Matt 13:31–32Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
- Luke 17:21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
- Mark 4:26And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
- Luke 13:20And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?
- Matt 13:24Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
- Lam 2:13What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee?
- Luke 7:31And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 13:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.