St Matthew 13
13
1THE same day Jesus going out of the house, sat by the sea side.
2And great multitudes were gathered unto him, so that he went up into a boat and sat: and all the multitude stood on the shore.
3And he spoke to them many things in parables, saying: Behold the sower went forth to sow.
4And whilst he soweth some fell by the way side, and the birds of the air came and ate them up.
5And other some fell upon stony ground, where they had not much earth: and they sprung up immediately, because they had no deepness of earth.
6And when the sun was up they were scorched: and because they had not root, they withered away.
7And others fell among thorns: and the thorns grew up and choked them.
8And others fell upon good ground: and they brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold.
9He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10And his disciples came and said to him: Why speakest thou to them in parables?
11Who answered and said to them: Because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven: but to them it is not given.
12For he that hath, to him shall be given, and he shall abound: but he that hath not, from him shall be taken away that also which he hath.
13Therefore do I speak to them in parables: because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14And the prophecy of Isaias is fulfilled in them, who saith: By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand: and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive.
15For the heart of this people is grown gross, and with their ears they have been dull of hearing, and their eyes they have shut: lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
16But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.
17For, amen, I say to you, many prophets and just men have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things that you hear and have not heard them.
18Hear you therefore the parable of the sower.
19When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, there cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart: this is he that received the seed by the way side.
20And he that received the seed upon stony ground, is he that heareth the word, and immediately receiveth it with joy.
21Yet hath he not root in himself, but is only for a time: and when there ariseth tribulation and persecution because of the word, he is presently scandalized.
22And he that received the seed among thorns, is he that heareth the word, and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choketh up the word, and he becometh fruitless.
23But he that received the seed upon good ground, is he that heareth the word, and understandeth, and beareth fruit, and yieldeth the one an hundredfold, and another sixty, and another thirty.
24Another parable he proposed to them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seeds in his field.
25But while men were asleep, his enemy came and oversowed cockle among the wheat and went his way.
26And when the blade was sprung up, and had brought forth fruit, then appeared also the cockle.
27And the servants of the goodman of the house coming said to him: Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it cockle?
28And he said to them: An enemy hath done this. And the servants said to him: Wilt thou that we go and gather it up?
29And he said: No, lest perhaps gathering up the cockle, you root up the wheat also together with it.
30Suffer both to grow until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers: Gather up first the cockle, and bind it into bundles to burn, but the wheat gather ye into my barn.
31Another parable he proposed unto them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.
32Which is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown up, it is greater than all herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come, and dwell in the branches thereof.
33Another parable he spoke to them: The kingdom of heaven is like to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened.
34All these things Jesus spoke in parables to the multitudes: and without parables he did not speak to them.
35That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.
36Then having sent away the multitudes, he came into the house, and his disciples came to him, saying: Expound to us the parable of the cockle of the field.
37Who made answer and said to them: He that soweth the good seed, is the Son of man.
38And the field, is the world. And the good seed are the children of the kingdom. And the cockle, are the children of the wicked one.
39And the enemy that sowed them, is the devil. But the harvest is the end of the world. And the reapers are the angels.
40Even as cockle therefore is gathered up, and burnt with fire: so shall it be at the end of the world.
41The Son of man shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all scandals, and them that work iniquity.
42And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43Then shall the just shine as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
44The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field. Which a man having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
45Again the kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant seeking good pearls.
46Who when he had found one pearl of great price, went his way, and sold all that he had, and bought it.
47Again the kingdom of heaven is like to a net cast into the sea, and gathering together of all kind of fishes.
48Which, when it was filled, they drew out, and sitting by the shore, they chose out the good into vessels, but the bad they cast forth.
49So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just.
50And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51Have ye understood all these things? They say to him: Yes.
52He said unto them: Therefore every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven, is like to a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things and old.
53And it came to pass: when Jesus had finished these parables, he passed from thence.
54And coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogues, so that they wondered and said: How came this man by this wisdom and miracles?
55Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Jude:
56And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence therefore hath he all these things?
57And they were scandalized in his regard. But Jesus said to them: A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58And he wrought not many miracles there, because of their unbelief.
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St Matthew 13: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Matthew 13
13
The parable of the sower
1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9Whoever has ears, let them hear.’
10The disciples came to him and asked, ‘Why do you speak to the people in parables?’
11He replied, ‘Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13This is why I speak to them in parables:
‘Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled 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.” # 13:15
Isaiah 6:9,10 (see Septuagint)
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see 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: 19when anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23But 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.’
The parable of the weeds
24Jesus told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed ears, 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 up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30Let 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.” ’
The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast
31He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though 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.’
33He told them still another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about thirty kilograms of flour until it worked all through the dough.’
34Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
‘I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.’#13:35 Psalm 78:2
The parable of the weeds explained
36Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.’
37He answered, ‘The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
40 ‘As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
The parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl
44 ‘The kingdom of heaven is like 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.
45 ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When 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 a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48When 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. 49This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 ‘Have you understood all these things?’ Jesus asked.
‘Yes,’ they replied.
52He 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 honour
53When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54Coming to his home town, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’ they asked. 55‘Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?’ 57And they took offence at him.
But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour except in his own town and in his own home.’
58And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
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