Matthew 13

1 On that day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.2 And there were gathered unto him great multitudes, so that he entered into a boat, and sat; and all the multitude stood on the beach.3 And he spake to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went forth to sow;4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured them:5 and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: and straightway they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth:6 and when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.7 And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked them:8 and others fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.9 He that hath ears, let him hear.

10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?11 And he answered and said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.13 Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.14 And unto them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand; And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive:

15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them.

16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.17 For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which ye see, and saw them not; and to hear the things which ye hear, and heard them not.18 Hear then ye the parable of the sower.19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the evil one, and snatcheth away that which hath been sown in his heart. This is he that was sown by the way side.20 And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it;21 yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth.22 And he that was sown among the thorns, this is he that heareth the word; and the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.23 And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

24 Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field:25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away.26 But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.27 And the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares?28 And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. And the servants say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?29 But he saith, Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them.30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.

31 Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:32 which indeed is less than all seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and lodge in the branches thereof.

33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.

34 All these things spake Jesus in parables unto the multitudes; and without a parable spake he nothing unto them:35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.

36 Then he left the multitudes, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field.37 And he answered and said, He that soweth 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; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;39 and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels.40 As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the world.41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity,42 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear.

44 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid; and in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls:46 and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:48 which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but the bad they cast away.49 So shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous,50 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

51 Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea.52 And he said unto them, Therefore every scribe who hath been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

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

54 And coming into his own country he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? 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 hath this man all these things?57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Matthew 13

The Parable of the Sower

1 On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake.2 And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit whilet the whole crowd stood on the shore.3 Het told them many things in parables,s saying: “Listen!t A sower went out to sow.s4 And as he sowed, some seedst fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.5 Othert seeds fell on rocky grounds where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep.t6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered.7 Other seeds fell among the thorns,s and they grew up and choked them.s8 But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.

9 The one who has ears had better listen!”t
10 Thent the disciples came to him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”11 He replied,t “You have been givent the opportunity to knowt the secretsts of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.12 For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.s13 For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand.

14 And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:
‘You will listen carefullytyet will never understand,
you will look closelytyet will never comprehend.

15 For the heart of this people has become dull;
they are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’s
16 “But your eyes are blesseds because they see, and your ears because they hear.

17 For I tell you the truth,t many prophets and righteous people longed to sees what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18 “So listen to the parable of the sower:19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil ones comes and snatches what was sown in his heart;s this is the seed sown along the path.20 Thet seed sown on rocky groundt is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.21 But he has no root in himself and does not endure;t whent trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.22 Thet seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealtht choke the word,s so it produces nothing.

23 But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”t

The Parable of the Weeds

24 He presented them with another parable:t “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field.25 But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weedst among the wheat and went away.26 Whent the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.27 So the slavest of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’28 He said, ‘An enemy has done this.’ Sot the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’29 But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them.

30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Att harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, but thent gathert the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

31 He gavet them another parable:t “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seeds that a man took and sowed in his field.

32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree,s so that the wild birdst come and nest in its branches.”s

The Parable of the Yeast

33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed witht three measuress of flour until all the dough had risen.”ts

The Purpose of Parables

34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; he did not speak to them without a parable.

35 This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet:st
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”s

Explanation for the Disciples

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”37 Het answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.38 The field is the world and the good seed are the peoplet of the kingdom. The weeds are the peoplet of the evil one,39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.40 Ast the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age.41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers.t42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace,s where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.s The one who has ears had better listen!t

Parables on the Kingdom of Heaven

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.

46 When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish.48 When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away.49 It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous

50 and throw them into the fiery furnace,s where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They replied, “Yes.”

52 Then he said to them, “Therefore every expert in the lawt who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old.”

Rejection at Nazareth

53 Now whent Jesus finished these parables, he moved on from there.54 Thent he came to his hometowns and began to teach the peoplet in their synagogue.s Theyt were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother named Mary?s And aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?56 And aren’t all his sisters here with us? Where did he get all this?”t57 And so they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own house.”

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