Mattityahu (Mat) 13
13
1That same day, Yeshua went out of the house and sat down by the lake; 2but such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there while the crowd stood on the shore. 3He told them many things in parables:
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he sowed, some seed fell alongside the path; and the birds came and ate it up. 5Other seed fell on rocky patches where there was not much soil. It sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow; 6but when the sun had risen, the young plants were scorched; and since their roots were not deep, they dried up. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8But others fell into rich soil and produced grain, a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much as had been sown. 9Those who have ears, let them hear!”
10Then the talmidim came and asked Yeshua, “Why are you speaking to them in parables?” 11He answered, “Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it has not been given to them. 12For anyone who has something will be given more, so that he will have plenty; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away. 13Here is why I speak to them in parables: they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. 14That is, in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Yesha‘yahu which says,
‘You will keep on hearing but never understand,
and keep on seeing but never perceive,
15because the heart of this people has become dull —
with their ears they barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,
so as not to see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and do t’shuvah,
so that I could heal them.’
16But you, how blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear! 17Yes indeed! I tell you that many a prophet and many a tzaddik longed to see the things you are seeing but did not see them, and to hear the things you are hearing but did not hear them.
18“So listen to what the parable of the sower means. 19Whoever hears the message about the Kingdom, but doesn’t understand it, is like the seed sown along the path — the Evil One comes and seizes what was sown in his heart. 20The seed sown on rocky ground is like a person who hears the message and accepts it with joy at once, 21but has no root in himself. So he stays on for a while; but as soon as some trouble or persecution arises on account of the message, he immediately falls away. 22Now the seed sown among thorns stands for someone who hears the message, but it is choked by the worries of the world and the deceitful glamor of wealth, so that it produces nothing. 23However, what was sown on rich soil is the one who hears the message and understands it; such a person will surely bear fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
24Yeshua put before them another parable. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, then went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads of grain, the weeds also appeared. 27The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ 28He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Then do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29But he said, ‘No, because if you pull up the weeds, you might uproot some of the wheat at the same time. 30Let them both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest-time I will tell the reapers to collect the weeds first and tie them in bundles to be burned, but to gather the wheat into my barn.’”
31Yeshua put before them another parable. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man takes and sows in his field. 32It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up it is larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the birds flying about come and nest in its branches.”
33And he told them yet another parable. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with a bushel of flour, then waited until the whole batch of dough rose.”
34All these things Yeshua said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without using a parable. 35This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet,
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will say what has been hidden since the creation of the universe.”
36Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His talmidim approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38the field is the world. As for the good seed, these are the people who belong to the Kingdom; and the weeds are the people who belong to the Evil One. 39The enemy who sows them is the Adversary, the harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40Just as the weeds are collected and burned up in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all the things that cause people to sin and all the people who are far from Torah; 42and they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where people will wail and grind their teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let him hear!
44“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. A man found it, hid it again, then in great joy went and sold everything he owned, and bought that field.
45“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for fine pearls. 46On finding one very valuable pearl he went away, sold everything he owned and bought it.
47“Once more, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net thrown into the lake, that caught all kinds of fish. 48When it was full, the fishermen brought the net up onto the shore, sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad fish away. 49So it will be at the close of the age — the angels will go forth and separate the evil people from among the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will wail and grind their teeth.
51“Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered. 52He said to them, “So then, every Torah-teacher who has been made into a talmid for the Kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a home who brings out of his storage room both new things and old.”
53When Yeshua had finished these parables, he left 54and went to his home town. There he taught them in their synagogue in a way that astounded them, so that they asked, “Where do this man’s wisdom and miracles come from? 55Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Miryam? and his brothers Ya‘akov, Yosef, Shim‘on and Y’hudah? 56And his sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does he get all this?” 57And they took offense at him. But Yeshua said to them, “The only place people don’t respect a prophet is in his home town and in his own house.” 58And he did few miracles there because of their lack of trust.
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Mattityahu (Mat) 13: CJB
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleMatthew 13
13
Jesus told a story about some rubbish plants
24Then Jesus told the people another picture story. He said, “This story shows you something about God’s family.
A farmer planted some good food seeds in his garden. 25But there was a bad man that didn’t like that farmer. One night, when everyone was asleep, that bad man went to the farmer’s garden and planted some rubbish plant seeds in it, beside the good seeds. Then that bad man went away.
26The good seeds grew into good plants, but at the same time the rubbish plants started to grow there too. Those rubbish plants look like the good plants when they are young, but when they get big we can’t eat their seeds. They are too cheeky.
27So the farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Boss, you planted good food seeds in that ground. How come a lot of rubbish plants are growing there too?’
28The farmer said, ‘I reckon there is a bad man that doesn’t like me, and he planted those rubbish plants.’
The workers said, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up those rubbish plants?’
29The farmer said, ‘No, don’t do that. Those plants are all mixed together, so if you pull up the rubbish plants, then you will pull up some of the good food plants with them. 30No. Just let them all grow up, the good plants and the rubbish plants together. Later, when the right time comes, I will get some men to get the good seed food. But I will talk to them before they do that job. I will tell them to cut down the rubbish plants first, and take them away, and burn them. After that, they will get all the good seed food and bring it into my shed.’ ”
(We have not yet translated 13:31-35. You can read some of those stories and messages in Mark 4:30-32.)
Jesus told his followers what the story about the rubbish plants means
36Then Jesus went into a house, away from all the people. And his followers went to him and said, “Please tell us what that story means, that picture story about the rubbish plants and the garden.”
37Jesus said to them, “I’m God’s special man from heaven, and I’m like the farmer in that story. I’m like the man that planted good food seeds in a garden. 38That garden is like the world. The good food seeds are like the people that belong to God. The rubbish plant seeds are like the people that belong to the devil, the boss over the bad spirits. 39The bad man that planted those rubbish seeds in the garden is like the devil. The time to get all the good seed food is like the time for the end of the world. The workers that cut down the plants are like God’s angel messengers.
40And in the story the workers cut down the rubbish plants and burned them in the fire. That is a picture of what will happen at the end of the world. 41You see, I’m God’s special man from heaven, and at the end of the world, I will send out God’s angel messengers. They will get the people that belong to the devil. They will get all the people that don’t belong in God’s family. Those people are the ones that break God’s law, and they make other people do bad things. 42The angels will chuck all those bad people into a big fire. Those people will cry, and they will be so angry that they will bite their teeth together. 43But at that time God will show everyone that the good people are really great. It will be like they are shiny, like the sun. And they will be in the family of God, their father.”
Then Jesus said, “You’ve got ears, so you have to listen to me properly, and take notice of my words.”
Jesus told 2 stories to show us that God’s family is very good
44Jesus told his followers another picture story. He said, “This story shows you more about God’s family.
A man buried a lot of gold in the ground, to hide it. Some time later, another man found that gold, but he didn’t own the land, so he couldn’t get it for himself. So he buried it again. Then he went away, and he sold everything that he owned, to get some money. Then he bought that land. After that, he got all that gold for himself, and he was really happy. Well, if you find out how to get into God’s family, it is like you find a lot of gold.”
45Jesus talked some more. He said, “This is another picture story that shows you about God’s family. There was a man that used to buy things, and then take them to another place and sell them again at a higher price. That was his job. One day, he was looking for beautiful pearls to buy. 46He found a really good and beautiful pearl, but its price was very high. So he sold everything that he owned, to get enough money for it. Then he bought that very good pearl. Well, if you find out how to get into God’s family, it is like you find a very good pearl.”
Jesus told a story about a fishing net, to show more about God’s family
47Then Jesus said, “This is another picture story that shows you about God’s family. Some fishermen threw their fishing net into the water and caught a lot of fish in it. There were all sorts of fish in that net. 48Then they dragged it up on to the land, and sat down, and sorted out the fish. They put the good fish into baskets to keep them, and they chucked the bad fish away. 49-50That’s what it will be like when God will finish up this world. His angel workers will come and sort everybody out. They will save good people, and they will chuck the bad people into a big fire. Those people will cry a lot, and they will be so angry that they will bite their teeth together.”
Teachers in God’s family use both new and old messages from God
51Then Jesus asked his followers, “Do you understand all these things?”
They said, “Yes, we do.”
52Then Jesus said, “Every teacher of our Jewish law that joins God’s family will teach new messages from God as well as old messages. Every teacher of God’s word is like a man that owns a big house. That man has a store-room in that house, where he keeps his very special things. Sometimes he brings those things out to show to his friends. He shows them new things, as well as old things.”
(We have not yet translated 13:53—17:23. You can read those stories and messages in Mark 6:1—9:32.)
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