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13 And that [same] day Jesus went out from the house and sat down by the sea.

And great crowds were gathered together to him, so that going on board ship himself he sat down, and the whole crowd stood on the shore.

And he spoke to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went out to sow:

and as he sowed, some [grains] fell along the way, and the birds came and devoured them;

and others fell upon the rocky places where they had not much earth, and immediately they sprang up out of [the ground] because of not having [any] depth of earth,

but when the sun rose they were burned up, and because of not having [any] root were dried up;

and others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them;

and others fell upon the good ground, and produced fruit, one a hundred, one sixty, and one thirty.

He that has ears, let him hear.

10 And the disciples came up and said to him, Why speakest thou to them in parables?

11 And he answering said to them, Because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it is not given;

12 for whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall be caused to be in abundance; but he who has not, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

13 For this cause I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear nor understand;

14 and in them is filled up the prophecy of Esaias, which says, Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and beholding ye shall behold and not see;

15 for the heart of this people has grown fat, and they have heard heavily with their ears, and they have closed their eyes as asleep, lest they should see with the eyes, and hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

16 But blessed are *your* eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear;

17 for verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous [men] have desired to see the things which ye behold and did not see [them], and to hear the things which ye hear and did not hear [them].

18 *Ye*, therefore, hear the parable of the sower.

19 From every one who hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand [it], the wicked one comes and catches away what was sown in his heart: this is he that is sown by the wayside.

20 But he that is sown on the rocky places—this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,

21 but has no root in himself, but is for a time only; and when tribulation or persecution happens on account of the word, he is immediately offended.

22 And he that is sown among the thorns—this is he who hears the word, and the anxious care of this life, and the deceit of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

23 But he that is sown upon the good ground—this is he who hears and understands the word, who bears fruit also, and produces, one a hundred, one sixty, and one thirty.

24 Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of the heavens has become like a man sowing good seed in his field;

25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel amongst the wheat, and went away.

26 But when the blade shot up and produced fruit, then appeared the darnel also.

27 And the bondmen of the householder came up and said to him, Sir, hast thou not sown good seed in thy field? whence then has it darnel?

28 And he said to them, A man [that is] an enemy has done this. And the bondmen said to him, Wilt thou then that we should go and gather it [up]?

29 But he said, No; lest [in] gathering the darnel ye should root up the wheat with it.

30 Suffer both to grow together unto the harvest, and in time of the harvest I will say to the harvestmen, Gather first the darnel, and bind it into bundles to burn it; but the wheat bring together into my granary.

31 Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of the heavens is like a grain of mustard [seed] which a man took and sowed in his field;

32 which is less indeed than all seeds, but when it is grown is greater than herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and roost in its branches.

33 He spoke another parable to them: The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until it had been all leavened.

34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them,

35 so that that should be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from [the] world's foundation.

36 Then, having dismissed the crowds, he went into the house; and his disciples came to him, saying, Expound to us the parable of the darnel of the field.

37 But he answering said, He that sows the good seed is the Son of man,

38 and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom, but the darnel are the sons of the evil [one];

39 and the enemy who has sowed it is the devil; and the harvest is [the] completion of [the] age, and the harvestmen are angels.

40 As then the darnel is gathered and is burned in the fire, thus it shall be in the completion of the age.

41 The Son of man shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all offences, and those that practise lawlessness;

42 and they shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

43 Then the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that has ears, let him hear.

44 The kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hid in the field, which a man having found has hid, and for the joy of it goes and sells all whatever he has, and buys that field.

45 Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls;

46 and having found one pearl of great value, he went and sold all whatever he had and bought it.

47 Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a seine which has been cast into the sea, and which has gathered together of every kind,

48 which, when it has been filled, having drawn up on the shore and sat down, they gathered the good into vessels and cast the worthless out.

49 Thus shall it be in the completion of the age: the angels shall go forth and sever the wicked from the midst of the just,

50 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

51 Jesus says to them, Have ye understood all these things? They say to him, Yea, [Lord].

52 And he said to them, For this reason every scribe discipled to the kingdom of the heavens is like a man [that is] a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.

53 And it came to pass when Jesus had finished these parables he withdrew thence.

54 And having come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, Whence has this [man] this wisdom and these works of power?

55 Is not this the son of the carpenter? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas?

56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then has this [man] all these things?

57 And they were offended in him. And Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honour, unless in his country and in his house.

58 And he did not there many works of power, because of their unbelief.

The Parable of the Sower(A)(B)(C)

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house(D) and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat(E) and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred,(F) sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”(G)

10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven(H) has been given to you,(I) but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.(J) 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;
    though hearing, they do not hear or understand.(K)

14 In them is fulfilled(L) the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
    you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
    they hardly hear with their ears,
    and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,
    understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’[a](M)

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.(N) 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see(O) but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom(P) and does not understand it, the evil one(Q) comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.(R) 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth(S) choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”(T)

The Parable of the Weeds

24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like(U) a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”(V)

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast(W)(X)

31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like(Y) a mustard seed,(Z) which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”(AA)

33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like(AB) yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds[b] of flour(AC) until it worked all through the dough.”(AD)

34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.(AE) 35 So was fulfilled(AF) what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables,
    I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”[c](AG)

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable(AH) of the weeds in the field.”

37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.(AI) 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one,(AJ) 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest(AK) is the end of the age,(AL) and the harvesters are angels.(AM)

40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man(AN) will send out his angels,(AO) and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(AP) 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun(AQ) in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.(AR)

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like(AS) treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.(AT)

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like(AU) a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like(AV) a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds(AW) of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous(AX) 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(AY)

51 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

52 He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

A Prophet Without Honor(AZ)

53 When Jesus had finished these parables,(BA) he moved on from there. 54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue,(BB) and they were amazed.(BC) “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?(BD) Isn’t his mother’s(BE) name Mary, and aren’t his brothers(BF) James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense(BG) at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”(BH)

58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 13:15 Isaiah 6:9,10 (see Septuagint)
  2. Matthew 13:33 Or about 27 kilograms
  3. Matthew 13:35 Psalm 78:2