Mateus 13

Mustard seed

31 He put another parable to them, saying: "The kingdom of the heavens is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 which indeed is smaller than all the seeds,*That is, seeds normally planted in gardens. but when it is grown it is greater than all the vegetables and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and rest*The verb I have rendered ‘to rest’ is a compound form. The noun root refers to a temporary shelter, like a tent or a hut. The verbal form means to make use of such a shelter. Here the preposition κατα is prefixed to the verb, emphasizing, as I suppose, the temporariness. In Mark 4:32 the Text says that the birds can use the shade, not the branches. But shade moves with the sun, and with the wind—how can you build a nest in something that keeps moving around (the Text actually says ‘under its shade’)? in its branches."