Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.”
- KJV Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
- BSB He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”
- NASB He spoke another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three sata of flour until it was all leavened.”
- NLT Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”
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 compares the Kingdom to yeast a woman works through a large batch of dough until it is all leavened. God's reign quietly and pervasively transforms everything it touches.
Overview
In this parable the Kingdom works like leaven hidden in three measures of meal, spreading unseen until the whole is changed. Though yeast often symbolizes corruption elsewhere in Scripture, here it pictures the Kingdom's penetrating, inevitable influence. The emphasis is on the hidden yet thorough working of God's reign, which transforms the world from within rather than by outward force.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Gal 5:9A little yeast grows through the whole lump.
- 1 Cor 5:6–7Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole lump?
- Phil 2:13–15For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.
- Luke 13:21It is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”
- Prov 4:18But the path of the righteous is like the dawning light, that shines more and more until the perfect day.
- Gen 18:6Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly prepare three seahs of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.”
- 2 Pet 3:18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
- Hos 6:3Let us acknowledge Yahweh. Let us press on to know Yahweh. As surely as the sun rises, Yahweh will appear. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain that waters the earth.”
- Job 17:9Yet shall the righteous hold on his way. He who has clean hands shall grow stronger and stronger.
- 1 Th 5:23–24May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Phil 1:9This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment;
- John 16:12–13“I have yet many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.
- Matt 13:24He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field,
- Mark 13:20Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the chosen ones, whom he picked out, he shortened the days.
- John 15:2Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
- Phil 1:6being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 13:33 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
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