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13 The same day, Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the seaside.

And great multitudes gathered to Him, so that He went into a ship and sat down. And the whole multitude stood on the shore.

Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, a sower went out to sow.

“And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside. And the birds came and devoured them.

“And some fell upon stony ground, where they did not have much earth. And soon they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.

“But when the sun came up, they were burnt up; and for lack of rooting, withered away.

“And some fell among thorns. And the thorns sprang up and choked them.

But some fell in good ground, and brought forth fruit; one corn a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and another thirtyfold.

“The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

10 Then the disciples came, and said to Him, “Why did You speak to them in parables?”

11 And He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven. But to them it is not given.

12 “For whoever has, to him shall be given. And he shall have abundance. But whoever does not have, even that which he has shall be taken away from him.

13 “Therefore, I speak to them in parables. Because they, seeing, do not see. And hearing, they do not hear, nor understand.

14 “So in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled which says, ‘By hearing you shall hear and shall not understand; and seeing, you shall see and shall not perceive.

15 “‘For this people’s heart has grown fat and their ears barely hear and they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and should understand with their hearts and should return, that I might heal them.’

16 “But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.

17 “For truly I say to you that many Prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear and have not heard them.

18 “Therefore, hear the parable of the Sower.

19 “Whenever anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away that which was sown in his heart. And this is the one who has received the seed by the wayside.

20 “And the one who received seed in the stony ground, is he who hears the word, and immediately, with joy, receives it,

21 “but he has no root in himself and endures but a season. For as soon as trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly stumbles.

22 “And the one who receives the seed among thorns, is he who hears the word, but the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word. And it is made unfruitful.

23 “But the one who receives the seed in the good ground, is he who hears the word and understands it, who also bears fruit and brings forth; some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold.”

24 He put forth another parable to them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

25 “But while the men slept, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went his way.

26 “And when the blade had sprung up and brought forth fruit, the weeds also appeared.

27 “Then the servants of the landowner came, and said to him, ‘Master, did not you sow good seed in your field? From where have these weeds come?’

28 “And he said to them, ‘Some envious man has done this.’ Then the servants said to him, ‘Do you wish us to go and gather them up?’

29 “But he said, ‘No, lest while you are gathering the weeds you also pluck up the wheat with them.

30 “‘Let both grow together until the harvest. And at harvest time I will say to the reapers, “First, gather the weeds, and bind them in sheaves to burn them. But gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

31 He put forth another parable to them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man takes and sows in his field,

32 “which indeed is the least of all seeds. But when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs. And it becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and build in its branches.”

33 He spoke another parable to them, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till all was leavened.”

34 Jesus spoke all these things to the multitude in parables. And He did not speak to them without parables.

35 So that which was spoken by the Prophet might be fulfilled, which says, “I will open my mouth in parables, and will utter the things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.”

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of that field.”

37 Then He answered, and said to them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

38 “And the field is the world. And the good seed are the children of the Kingdom. And the weeds are the children of the evil one.

39 “And the enemy who sows them is the devil. And the harvest is the end of the world. And the reapers are the angels.

40 “Just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be at the end of this world.

41 “The Son of Man shall send forth His angels. And they shall gather all stumbling blocks out of His Kingdom, and those who do iniquity,

42 “and shall cast them into a furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

43 “Then shall the just shine as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.

44 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure, hidden in the field. Which, when a man has found, he hides it. And for joy thereof, departs and sells all that he has, and buys that field.

45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant man who seeks good pearls,

46 “Who, having found a pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

47 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a draw net, cast into the sea, which gathers of all kinds of things;

48 “which, when it is full, they draw to land, and sit and gather the good into vessels, and cast away the bad.

49 “So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go forth, and separate the bad from among the just;

50 “and shall cast them into a furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

51 Jesus said to them, “Do you understand all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

52 Then He said to them, “Therefore, every scribe who is taught about the Kingdom of Heaven, is like a landowner who brings forth, out of his treasure, things both new and old.”

53 And it happened that when Jesus had ended these parables, He departed from there,

54 and came into His own country, and taught them in their synagogue (so that they were astonished, and said, “From where does this wisdom and these great works come to this man?”

55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

56 “And are not his sisters all with us? From where, then, did he get all these things?”).

57 And they were offended by Him. Then Jesus said to them, “A Prophet is not without honor, except in His own country and in His own house.”

58 And He did not do many great works there, because of their unbelief.

The Parable of the Sower(A)(B)(C)

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house(D) and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat(E) and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred,(F) sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”(G)

10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven(H) has been given to you,(I) but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.(J) 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;
    though hearing, they do not hear or understand.(K)

14 In them is fulfilled(L) 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.’[a](M)

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.(N) 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see(O) 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: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom(P) and does not understand it, the evil one(Q) comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.(R) 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth(S) choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But 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.”(T)

The Parable of the Weeds

24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like(U) a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, 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 the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let 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.’”(V)

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast(W)(X)

31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like(Y) a mustard seed,(Z) which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though 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.”(AA)

33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like(AB) yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds[b] of flour(AC) until it worked all through the dough.”(AD)

34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.(AE) 35 So was fulfilled(AF) what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables,
    I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”[c](AG)

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable(AH) of the weeds in the field.”

37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.(AI) 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one,(AJ) 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest(AK) is the end of the age,(AL) and the harvesters are angels.(AM)

40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man(AN) will send out his angels,(AO) and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(AP) 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun(AQ) in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.(AR)

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like(AS) 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.(AT)

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like(AU) a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When 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(AV) a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds(AW) of fish. 48 When 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. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous(AX) 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(AY)

51 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

52 He 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 Honor(AZ)

53 When Jesus had finished these parables,(BA) he moved on from there. 54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue,(BB) and they were amazed.(BC) “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?(BD) Isn’t his mother’s(BE) name Mary, and aren’t his brothers(BF) James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense(BG) at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”(BH)

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

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 13:15 Isaiah 6:9,10 (see Septuagint)
  2. Matthew 13:33 Or about 27 kilograms
  3. Matthew 13:35 Psalm 78:2