1 The Parable of the Sower On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.
2 And 13:2 Lit many large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying,“Behold, the sower went out to sow;
4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
5 And others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.
6 But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And others fell 13:7Lit upon among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.
8 And others fell on the good soil and were yielding 13:8Lit fruit a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
9 He who has ears, 13:9Or hear!, listen! let him hear.”The Purpose of the Parables
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11 And 13:11 Lit He Jesus answered and said to them,“To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12 For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
13 Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,‘ 13:14 Lit With a hearing you will hear You will keep on hearing, 13:14 Lit and but will not understand; 13:14 Lit Seeing you will see You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
15 For the heart of this people has become dull,And with their ears they scarcely hear,And they have closed their eyes,Lest they would see with their eyes,Hear with their ears,And understand with their heart and return,And I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
17 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.The Parable of the Sower Explained
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower.
19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
20 And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
21 yet he has no root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he 13:21Lit is caused to stumble falls away.
22 And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the worry of the 13:22 Or age world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
23 And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”The Parable of Tares Among Wheat
24 He presented another parable to them, saying,“The kingdom of heaven 13:24Lit was compared to may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed 13:25Or darnel, a weed resembling wheat tares among the wheat, and went away.
26 But when the 13:26 Lit grass wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
27 The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? 13:27Lit From where How then does it have tares?’
28 And he said to them, ‘An 13:28Lit enemy man enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’
29 But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.
30 Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”Parables of the Mustard Seed and Leaven
31 He presented another parable to them, saying,“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;
32 and this is the 13:32Lit smaller smallest of all seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is the 13:32Lit larger largest of the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the 13:32Or sky air come and nest in its branches.”
33 He spoke another parable to them,“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in 13:33Approx. 48 lb. or 39 l, a saton was approx. 16 lb. or 13 l three sata of flour until it was all leavened.”
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He was not speaking to them without a parable
35 so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying,“Iwill openMy mouth in parables;Iwill utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”The Parable of Tares Explained
36 Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the 13:36Or darnel, a weed resembling wheat tares of the field.”
37 And He answered and said,“The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the 13:39Or consummation end of the age; and the reapers are angels.
40 So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the 13:40Or consummation end of the age.
41 The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom 13:41Or everything that is offensive all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,
42 and will throw them into the fiery furnace; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, 13:43Or hear!, listen! let him hear.A Hidden Treasure
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.A Costly Pearl
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,
46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.A Dragnet
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;
48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.
49 So it will be at the 13:49Or consummation end of the age; the angels will come forth and 13:49Or separate take out the wicked from among the righteous,
50 and will throw them into the fiery furnace; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?”They *said to Him, “Yes.”
52 And He said to them,“Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
53 13:53Lit And Now it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there.
54 And He came to 13:54Or His own part of the country His hometown andbeganteaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Wheredidthis mangetthis wisdom andthese 13:54Or miracles miraculous powers?
55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where thendidthis mangetall these things?”
57 And they were taking offense at Him. But Jesus said to them,“A prophet is not without honor except in his 13:57Or own part of the country hometown and in his own household.”
58 And He did not do many 13:58Or works of power miracles there because of their unbelief.