Matthew 13

The Parable of the Sower

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house a and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him b so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And c he told them many things in parables, saying: d “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but e when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root f they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among g thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some h a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9  i He who has ears ▼
▼ Some manuscripts add here and in verse 43 to hear
 let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, k “To you it has been given to know l the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12  m For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not n even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because o seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, p nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

q “‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
 15 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears r they can barely hear,
and s their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and t understand with their heart
and u turn, and I would heal them.’

16 But v blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17  w For truly, I say to you x 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 Parable of the Sower Explained

18  y “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of z the kingdom and aa does not understand it, ab the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately ac receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but ad endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ae he falls away. ▼
▼ Or stumbles
 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ag the cares of ah the world and ai the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and aj understands it. He indeed ak bears fruit and yields, in one case al a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

24 He put another parable before them, saying, am “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds ▼
▼ Probably darnel, a wheat-like weed
 among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants ▼
▼ Greek bondservants; also verse 28
 of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said ap ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers aq Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

31 He put another parable before them, saying, ar “The kingdom of heaven is like as a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

33 He told them another parable. at “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in au three measures of flour, till it was av all leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

34  aw All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: ▼
▼ Some manuscripts Isaiah the prophet

ay “I will open my mouth in parables;
az I will utter what has been hidden ba since the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36 Then he left the crowds and went into bb the house. And his disciples came to him, saying bc “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is bd the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are be the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. bf The harvest is bg the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds bh are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at bi the end of the age. 41  bj The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all bk causes of sin and bl all law-breakers, 42  bm and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place bn there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then bo the righteous will shine like the sun bp in the kingdom of their Father. bq He who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “The kingdom of heaven br is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy bs he goes and sells all that he has and bt buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding bu one pearl of great value bv went and sold all that he had and bw bought it.

The Parable of the Net

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is bx like a net that was thrown into the sea and by gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full bz men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at ca the end of the age. The angels will come out and cb separate the evil from the righteous 50  cc and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place cd there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

51  ce “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every cf scribe cg who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who ch brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54  ci and coming to cj his hometown ck he taught them in their synagogue, so that cl they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55  cm Is not this cn the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not co his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And cp they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, cq “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there cr because of their unbelief.

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