Matthew 13
13
Jesus Teaches in Parables
1On that day Jesus had gone out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
3And He told them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil. 6But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7Others fell #13:7 Lit uponamong the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much. 9The one who has ears, #13:9 Or hear! Or listen!let him hear.”
An Explanation for Parables
10And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11And #13:11 Lit HeJesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12For 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. 13Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14And #13:14 Lit for themin their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
‘ # 13:14 Lit With a hearing you shall hear; a Heb idiom You shall keep on listening, # 13:14 Lit and but shall not understand;
And # 13:14 Lit Seeing you shall see you shall keep on looking, # 13:14 Lit and but shall not perceive;
15 For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
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. 17For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
The Sower Explained
18 “Listen then to the parable of the sower. 19When anyone hears the #13:19 I.e., messageword 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 sown with seed beside the road. 20The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the #13:21 I.e., messageword, immediately he #13:21 I.e., from the faithfalls away. 22And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of the #13:22 Or ageworld and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it #13:22 Or proves to be unfruitfulbecomes unfruitful. 23But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.”
Weeds among Wheat
24Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven #13:24 Lit has been compared tois like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed #13:25 Prob. darnel, a weed resembling wheatweeds among the wheat, and left. 26And when the #13:26 Lit grasswheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident. 27And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? #13:27 Lit From whereHow then does it have weeds?’ 28And he said to them, ‘#13:28 Lit A hostile personAn enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29But he *said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
The Mustard Seed
31He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field; 32and this is smaller than all the other seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”
The Leaven
33He spoke another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like #13:33 I.e., fermented doughleaven, which a woman took and hid in three #13:33 A Gr term for a Heb measure, totaling about 48 lb. or 22 kg of floursata of flour until it was all leavened.”
34All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak anything to them without a parable. 35This was so that what was spoken through the prophet would be #13:35 Lit fulfilled, sayingfulfilled:
“I will open My mouth in parables;
I will proclaim things hidden since the foundation of the world.”
The Weeds Explained
36Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the #13:36 Prob. darnel, a weed resembling wheatweeds of the field.” 37And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one; 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the #13:39 Or consummationend of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the #13:40 Or consummationend of the age. 41The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom #13:41 Or everything that is offensiveall stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears, #13:43 Or hear! Or listen!let him hear.
Hidden Treasure
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from # 13:44 Or his joy, he goes joy over it he goes and sells everything that he has, and buys that field.
A Costly Pearl
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it.
A Dragnet
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; 48and when it was filled, they pulled it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49So it will be at the #13:49 Or consummationend of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous, 50and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” 52And #13:52 Lit HeJesus 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 new things and old.”
Jesus Revisits Nazareth
53When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. 54And He came to #13:54 Or His own part of the countryHis hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, with the result that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man acquire this wisdom and these #13:54 Or miraclesmiraculous powers? 55Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is His mother not called Mary, and His brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man acquire all these things?” 57And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not dishonored except in his #13:57 Or own part of the countryhometown and in his own household.” 58And He did not do many #13:58 Or works of powermiracles there because of their unbelief.
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Matthew 13: NASB2020
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Matthew 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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