Bible Strands
Matthew 13:21
But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus, addressing his disciples and the crowd, is unpacking the parable of the sower (vv. 18–19) and identifying the second type of hearer.
The words — ῥίζαν (rhizan, "root") is the operative noun: the phrase "οὐκ ἔχει ῥίζαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ" (he does not have a root in himself) is the entire diagnosis. The negation, not the noun, carries the weight.
The thread — Ephesians 3:17 reverses the image positively ("rooted and grounded in love"), presenting depth as the goal rather than the absence. Matthew 11:6 ("does not fall away on account of Me") names the same failure from the side of endurance.
Why it lands — The verse isolates a specific failure: joy at reception without subsequent depth, so that the first test (trouble, persecution) is also the last. It asks the reader to distinguish between initial enthusiasm and a belief that has developed structure beneath the surface.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
Cross-references
- Matthew 11:6 Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of Me.”
- 2 Peter 1:8 For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Ephesians 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love,
- Hosea 6:4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes.
- Job 19:28 If you say, ‘Let us persecute him, since the root of the matter lies with him,’
- Proverbs 12:3 A man cannot be established through wickedness, but the righteous cannot be uprooted.
- John 15:5 I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.
- Job 27:8 For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
- Psalms 36:3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and well-doing.
- Mark 13:12 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.