Bible Verses About Parables

One day the trees set out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’

But the olive tree replied, ‘Should I stop giving my oil that honors both God and man, to hold sway over the trees?’

Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and reign over us.’

But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I stop giving my sweetness and my good fruit, to hold sway over the trees?’

Then the trees said to the grapevine, ‘Come and reign over us.’

But the grapevine replied, ‘Should I stop giving my wine that cheers both God and man, to hold sway over the trees?’

Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and reign over us.’

But the thornbush replied, ‘If you really are anointing me as king over you, come and find refuge in my shade. But if not, may fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’

Then the LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he arrived, he said, “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.

The rich man had a great number of sheep and cattle,

but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms and was like a daughter to him.

Now a traveler came to the rich man, who refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.”

David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!

Because he has done this thing and has shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.”

“What troubles you?” the king asked her. “Indeed,” she said, “I am a widow, for my husband is dead.

And your maidservant had two sons who were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.

Now the whole clan has risen up against your maidservant and said, ‘Hand over the one who struck down his brother, that we may put him to death for the life of the brother whom he killed. Then we will cut off the heir as well!’ So they would extinguish my one remaining ember by not preserving my husband’s name or posterity on the earth.”

“Go home,” the king said to the woman, “and I will give orders on your behalf.”

But the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord the king, may any blame be on me and on my father’s house, and may the king and his throne be guiltless.”

“If anyone speaks to you,” said the king, “bring him to me, and he will not trouble you again!”

“Please,” she replied, “may the king invoke the LORD your God to prevent the avenger of blood from increasing the devastation, so that my son may not be destroyed!” “As surely as the LORD lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”

Then the woman said, “Please, may your servant speak a word to my lord the king?” “Speak,” he replied.

And Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing, tore it into twelve pieces,

and said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and I will give you ten tribes.

But one tribe will remain for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.