Matthew 13
13
1And in that day Jesus, having gone forth from the house, was sitting by the sea,
2and gathered together unto him were many multitudes, so that he having gone into the boat did sit down, and all the multitude on the beach did stand,
3and he spake to them many things in similes, saying: ‘Lo, the sower went forth to sow,
4and in his sowing, some indeed fell by the way, and the fowls did come and devour them,
5and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth, and immediately they sprang forth, through not having depth of earth,
6and the sun having risen they were scorched, and through not having root, they withered,
7and others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns did come up and choke them,
8and others fell upon the good ground, and were giving fruit, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.
9He who is having ears to hear — let him hear.’
10And the disciples having come near, said to him, ‘Wherefore in similes dost thou speak to them?’
11And he answering said to them that — ‘To you it hath been given to know the secrets of the reign of the heavens, and to these it hath not been given,
12for whoever hath, it shall be given to him, and he shall have overabundance, and whoever hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken from him.
13‘Because of this, in similes do I speak to them, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand,
14and fulfilled on them is the prophecy of Isaiah, that saith, With hearing ye shall hear, and ye shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and ye shall not perceive,
15for made gross was the heart of this people, and with the ears they heard heavily, and their eyes they did close, lest they might see with the eyes, and with the ears might hear, and with the heart understand, and turn back, and I might heal them.
16‘And happy are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear,
17for verily I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men did desire to see that which ye look on, and they did not see, and to hear that which ye hear, and they did not hear.
18‘Ye, therefore, hear ye the simile of the sower:
19Every one hearing the word of the reign, and not understanding — the evil one doth come, and doth catch that which hath been sown in his heart; this is that sown by the way.
20‘And that sown on the rocky places, this is he who is hearing the word, and immediately with joy is receiving it,
21and he hath not root in himself, but is temporary, and persecution or tribulation having happened because of the word, immediately he is stumbled.
22‘And that sown toward the thorns, this is he who is hearing the word, and the anxiety of this age, and the deceitfulness of the riches, do choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
23‘And that sown on the good ground: this is he who is hearing the word, and is understanding, who indeed doth bear fruit, and doth make, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.’
24Another simile he set before them, saying: ‘The reign of the heavens was likened to a man sowing good seed in his field,
25and, while men are sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the midst of the wheat, and went away,
26and when the herb sprang up, and yielded fruit, then appeared also the darnel.
27‘And the servants of the householder, having come near, said to him, Sir, good seed didst thou not sow in thy field? whence then hath it the darnel?
28And he saith to them, A man, an enemy, did this; and the servants said to him, Wilt thou, then, [that] having gone away we may gather it up?
29‘And he said, No, lest — gathering up the darnel — ye root up with it the wheat,
30suffer both to grow together till the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the darnel, and bind it in bundles, to burn it, and the wheat gather up into my storehouse.’
31Another simile he set before them, saying: ‘The reign of the heavens is like to a grain of mustard, which a man having taken, did sow in his field,
32which less, indeed, is than all the seeds, but when it may be grown, is greatest of the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven do come and rest in its branches.’
33Another simile spake he to them: ‘The reign of the heavens is like to leaven, which a woman having taken, hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.’
34All these things spake Jesus in similes to the multitudes, and without a simile he was not speaking to them,
35that it might be fulfilled that was spoken through the prophet, saying, ‘I will open in similes my mouth, I will utter things having been hidden from the foundation of the world.’
36Then having let away the multitudes, Jesus came to the house, and his disciples came near to him, saying, ‘Explain to us the simile of the darnel of the field.’
37And he answering said to them, ‘He who is sowing the good seed is the Son of Man,
38and the field is the world, and the good seed, these are the sons of the reign, and the darnel are the sons of the evil one,
39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is a full end of the age, and the reapers are messengers.
40‘As, then, the darnel is gathered up, and is burned with fire, so shall it be in the full end of this age,
41the Son of Man shall send forth his messengers, and they shall gather up out of his kingdom all the stumbling-blocks, and those doing the unlawlessness,
42and shall cast them to the furnace of the fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.
43‘Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the reign of their Father. He who is having ears to hear — let him hear.
44‘Again, the reign of the heavens is like to treasure hid in the field, which a man having found did hide, and from his joy goeth, and all, as much as he hath, he selleth, and buyeth that field.
45‘Again, the reign of the heavens is like to a man, a merchant, seeking goodly pearls,
46who having found one pearl of great price, having gone away, hath sold all, as much as he had, and bought it.
47‘Again, the reign of the heavens is like to a net that was cast into the sea, and did gather together of every kind,
48which, when it was filled, having drawn up again upon the beach, and having sat down, they gathered the good into vessels, and the bad they did cast out,
49so shall it be in the full end of the age, the messengers shall come forth and separate the evil out of the midst of the righteous,
50and shall cast them to the furnace of the fire, there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.’
51Jesus saith to them, ‘Did ye understand all these?’ They say to him, ‘Yes, sir.’
52And he said to them, ‘Because of this every scribe having been discipled in regard to the reign of the heavens, is like to a man, a householder, who doth bring forth out of his treasure things new and old.’
53And it came to pass, when Jesus finished these similes, he removed thence,
54and having come to his own country, he was teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and were saying, ‘Whence to this one this wisdom and the mighty works?
55is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren
56and his sisters — are they not all with us? whence, then, to this one all these?’
57and they were stumbled at him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour except in his own country, and in his own house:’
58and he did not there many mighty works, because of their unbelief.
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Matthew 13: YLT98
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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 beside the sea. 2Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9Let anyone with ears#13.9 Other ancient authorities add to hear listen!”
The Purpose of the Parables
10Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets#13.11 Or mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 13The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’ 14With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:
‘You will indeed listen, but never understand,
and you will indeed look, but never perceive.
15For this people's heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn—
and I would heal them.’
16But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17Truly 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.
The Parable of the Sower Explained
18“Hear then the parable of the sower. 19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.#13.21 Gk stumbles 22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat
24He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
The Parable of the Yeast
33He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with#13.33 Gk hid in three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
The Use of Parables
34Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. 35This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:#13.35 Other ancient authorities read the prophet Isaiah
“I will open my mouth to speak in parables;
I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”#13.35 Other ancient authorities lack of the world
Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds
36Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears#13.43 Other ancient authorities add to hear listen!
Three Parables
44“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; 48when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. 49So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Treasures New and Old
51“Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” 52And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” 53When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.
The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth
54He came to his hometown and began to teach the people#13.54 Gk them in their synagogue, so that they were astounded and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? 55Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all this?” 57And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor except in their own country and in their own house.” 58And he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief.
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.