Jesus tells a parable to the crowd to help them understand what he has been saying to the scribes and Pharisees. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-parables]])
The words "Listen" and "understand" are related. Jesus uses them together to emphasize that his hearers should pay close attention to what he is saying. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-doublet]])
It may be helpful to state what Jesus is telling them to understand. Alternate translation: "try to understand what I am about to tell you" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-explicit]])