9 Bible Verses about Old Testament Parables

The trees went forth to anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree, Reign over us. But the olive tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness with which they honor God and man by me, and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, You come and reign over us.read more.
But the fig tree said to them, Should I forsake my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then the trees said to the vine, You come and reign over us. And the vine said to them, Should I leave my wine, which cheers God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then all the trees said to the bramble-bush, You come and reign over us. And the bramble-bush said to the trees, If you truly anoint me king over you, come put your trust in my shadow. And if not, let fire come out of the bramble and burn up the cedars of Lebanon.

And Jehovah sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said to him, There were two men in one city, one rich and one poor. The rich one had exceeding many flocks and herds, but the poor one had nothing except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished up. And it grew up together with him and with his sons. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him like a daughter.read more.
And there came a traveler to the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd to dress for the traveler that had come to him. But he took the poor man's lamb and dressed it for the man who had come to him.

And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle which was in Lebanon sent to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, Give your daughter to my son for a wife. And a beast of the field in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.

Now I will sing to my Beloved a song of my Beloved concerning His vineyard. My Beloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill. And He fenced it, and gathered out the stones of it, and planted it with choice vines, and built a tower in its midst, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and He looked for it to produce grapes. And it produced wild grapes. And now, O people of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, please judge between Me and My vineyard.read more.
What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Who knows? I looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded rotten grapes. And now I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard; I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten up; and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down; and I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor dug; but briers and thorns shall come up. And I will command the clouds that they rain no rain on it. For the vineyard of Jehovah of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His pleasant plant; and He looked for justice, but behold bloody iniquity; for righteousness, but behold a cry!

Son of man, put out a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel. And say, So says the Lord Jehovah: A great eagle with great wings, long of pinion, full of feathers, who had different colors, came to Lebanon and took the highest branch of the cedar. He plucked off the top of its young twigs and carried it into a land of traders. He set it in a city of merchants.read more.
He also took 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. And it grew and became a spreading low vine, whose branches turned toward him. And its roots were under him. So it became a vine and brought out branches and shot out boughs. There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers. And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot out its branches toward him, that he might water it, away from the beds of its planting. It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring out branches, and that it might bear fruit, to be a splendid vine. Say, So says the Lord Jehovah: Shall it prosper? Shall he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, and wither it? All the leaves of its sprouting shall wither, and not with great arm, nor by many people shall any raise it by its roots. And behold, being planted, shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It shall wither in the beds where it sprouted.

Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother. And they fornicated in Egypt; they whored in their youth, their breasts were handled, and there their virgin nipples were worked. And their names were Oholah, the oldest, and Oholibah, her sister. And they were Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And their names: Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.read more.
And Oholah whored under Me. And she lusted after her lovers, to her Assyrian neighbors, clothed with purple, governors and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding horses. So she bestowed her harlotries on them, the choice sons of Assyria; with all of them, and with all whom she lusted after; she defiled herself with all their idols. Nor did she leave her fornications from Egypt. For in her youth they lay with her, and they worked her virgin nipples, and poured their fornications on her. Therefore I have given her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians on whom she lusted. They uncovered her nakedness. They took her sons and her daughters and killed her with the sword. And she became notorious among women, and they executed judgment on her. And her sister Oholibah saw, she was more corrupt in her lustfulness than she, and her fornications were greater than her sister's whoredom. She lusted to the sons of Assyria, governors and rulers nearby, clothed most perfectly; horsemen riding horses, all of them desirable young men. And I saw that she was defiled, one way was to both of them. And she added to her fornications. And she saw men carved on the wall; images of the Chaldeans engraved with vermilion, girded with girdles on their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like rulers, like the sons of Babylon in Chaldea, the land of their birth; and she lusted after them, to the sight of her eyes, and sent messengers to them into Chaldea. And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with fornications. And she was defiled with them, and her mind was alienated from them. So she uncovered her fornications and uncovered her nakedness. And My soul was alienated from her just as My soul was alienated from her sister. Yet she multiplied her fornications to recall the days of her youth, in which she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. And she lusted on her lovers, whose flesh is like the flesh of asses and whose issue is like the issue of horses. So you longed for the wickedness of your youth, when the Egyptians worked your nipples, for the sake of the breasts of your youth. So, O Oholibah, the Lord Jehovah says this: Behold, I will raise up against you your lovers, from whom your soul is alienated; and I will bring them against you from all around; the Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; all of them desirable young men, governors and rulers, all of them, third heads and called ones; all of them riding on horses. And they shall come against you with weapons, chariots, and wheels, and with an assembly of peoples; buckler and shield and helmet shall set against you all around. And I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge you by their judgments. And I will set My jealousy against you, and they shall deal with you in fury. They shall take away your nose and your ears, and the rest of you shall fall by the sword. They shall take away your sons and your daughters, and the rest of you shall be devoured by the fire. They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels. So I will make your wickedness to cease from you, and your fornication from the land of Egypt. And you shall not lift up your eyes to them, nor shall you remember Egypt any more. For so says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will give you into the hand of those whom you hate, into the hand of whom your soul was alienated from them. And they shall deal with you in hatred, and shall take away all your labor, and shall leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your fornications shall be uncovered, both your wickedness and your fornications. These things will be done to you because you have whored after the nations, and because you are defiled with their idols. You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand. So says the Lord Jehovah: You shall drink of your sister's cup deep and large; you shall be laughed to scorn and mocked; for it holds much. with drunkenness and sorrow you are filled, the cup of horror and ruin, the cup of your sister Samaria. You shall even drink it and empty it. And you shall break its pieces, and tear off your own breasts. For I have spoken, says the Lord Jehovah. So the Lord Jehovah says this: Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, therefore bear also your wickedness and your adulteries. And Jehovah said to me: Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah, and declare to them their abominations, that they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands? And they have committed adultery with their idols and have also caused their sons whom they bore to Me to pass through the fire to them, to devour them. And yet they have done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary in that day, and have profaned My sabbaths. And when they had slain their sons to their idols, then they came into My sanctuary in that day to profane it. And lo, this they have done in the midst of My house. And they have even sent for men to come from far, to whom a messenger was sent. And lo, they came. You washed yourself for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments, and sat on a stately bed with a table prepared before it, on which you set My incense and My oil. And the sound of a crowd was at ease with her; and drunkards from the wilderness were brought with the men of the host of mankind; and they put bracelets on their hands, and crowns of beauty on their heads. And I said about the one worn in adulteries, Will they now whore with her, and she with them? And they went in to her, as they go in to a woman of harlotry; so they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the wicked women. And as righteous men, they shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, and the judgment of women who shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.

And speak a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, So says the Lord Jehovah: Set on a pot; set it on, and also pour water into it. Gather its pieces into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder. Fill it with the choice bones. Take the choice of the flock, and also burn the bones under it; make it boil high, and let them boil its bones in it.read more.
So the Lord Jehovah says this: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is in it, and whose scum has not gone out of it! Bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall on it. For her blood is in her midst; she set it on the top of a rock. She did not pour it on the ground, to cover it with dust, that it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance. I have set her blood on a shining rock, that it should not be covered. So the Lord Jehovah says this: Woe to the bloody city! I will even heap on the pile. And heap on the wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and mix in the spice, and let the bones be burned. And set it empty on its coals, so that its bronze may be hot and may glow, and that its uncleanness may be melted in it, that the scum of it may be burned away. She has wearied herself with lies, and her great scum did not go out from her. Her scum shall be in the fire. In your defilement is wickedness. Because I have purged you and you were not purged, you shall not be purged from your defilement any more, until I have caused My fury to cease on you. I Jehovah have spoken. It shall come, and I will do it. I will not let go, nor will I spare, nor will I repent. According to your ways, and according to your doings, they shall judge you, says the Lord Jehovah.

which things are being allegorized; for these are the two covenants, one indeed from Mount Sinai bringing forth to slavery, which is Hagar.

concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from where he even received him, in a figure.