Return to Bethel

35 God said to Jacob, “Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there.^(A) Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”^(B)

² So Jacob said to his family and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you.^(C) Purify yourselves and change your clothes.^{(D) 3} We must get up and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to the God who answered me in my day of distress.^(E) He has been with me everywhere I have gone.”^(F)

⁴ Then they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and their earrings, and Jacob hid them under the oak near Shechem. ⁵ When they set out, a terror from God came over the cities around them, and they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.^{(G) 6} So Jacob and all who were with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel^(H)) in the land of Canaan. ⁷ Jacob built an altar there and called the place God of Bethel^[a] because it was there that God had revealed Himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.

⁸ Deborah, the one who had nursed and raised Rebekah,^[b](I) died and was buried under the oak south of Bethel. So Jacob named it Oak of Weeping.^[c]

⁹ God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him. ¹⁰ God said to him:

So He named him Israel. ¹¹ God also said to him:

¹³ Then God withdrew^[e](P) from him at the place where He had spoken to him.

¹⁴ Jacob set up a marker at the place where He had spoken to him—a stone marker. He poured a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.^{(Q) 15} Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

Rachel’s Death

¹⁶ They set out from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult. ¹⁷ During her difficult labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you have another son.”^{(R) 18} With her last breath—for she was dying—she named him Ben-oni,^[f] but his father called him Benjamin.^{[g] 19} So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem^(S)). ²⁰ Jacob set up a marker on her grave; it is the marker at Rachel’s grave to this day.

Israel’s Sons

²¹ Israel set out again and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Eder.^{[h] 22} While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.^(T)

Jacob had 12 sons:^(U)

These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

Isaac’s Death

²⁷ Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre^(V) in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron^(W)), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. ²⁸ Isaac lived 180 years. ²⁹ He took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people,^(X) old and full of days. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

The Parable of the Sower

13 On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.^{(A) 2} Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood on the shore.^(B)

³ Then He told them many things in parables,^(C) saying: “Consider the sower who went out to sow. ⁴ As he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵ Others fell on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much soil, and they sprang up quickly since the soil wasn’t deep. ⁶ But when the sun came up they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered. ⁷ Others fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them. ⁸ Still others fell on good ground and produced a crop: some 100, some 60, and some 30 times what was sown.^{(D) 9} Anyone who has ears^[a] should listen!”^(E)

Why Jesus Used Parables

¹⁰ Then the disciples^(F) came up and asked Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”^(G)

¹¹ He answered them, “Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know,^(H) but it has not been given to them. ¹² For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have more than enough. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.^{(I) 13} For this reason I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see,^(J) and hearing they do not listen or understand.^{(K) 14} Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:

¹⁶ “But your eyes are blessed^(N) because they do see, and your ears because they do hear!^{(O) 17} For I assure you: Many prophets and righteous people longed to see the things you see yet didn’t see them; to hear the things you hear yet didn’t hear them.^(P)

The Parable of the Sower Explained

¹⁸ “You, then, listen to the parable of the sower:^{(Q) 19} When anyone hears the word^[c] about the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path.^{(R) 20} And the one sown on rocky ground—this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.^{(S) 21} Yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived. When pressure or persecution^(T) comes because of the word, immediately he stumbles. ²² Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age^(U) and the seduction^[d] of wealth^(V) choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²³ But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown.”

The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds

²⁴ He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.^{(W) 25} But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds^[e] among the wheat, and left. ²⁶ When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. ²⁷ The landowner’s slaves^(X) came to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’

²⁸ “‘An enemy did this!’ he told them.

“‘So, do you want us to go and gather them up?’ the slaves asked him.

²⁹ “‘No,’ he said. ‘When you gather up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but store the wheat in my barn.’”

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and of the Yeast

³¹ He^(Y) presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven^(Z) is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³² It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than the vegetables and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”^(AA)

³³ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into 50 pounds^[f] of flour until it spread through all of it.”^[g](AB)

Using Parables Fulfills Prophecy

³⁴ Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables, and He would not speak anything to them without a parable,^{(AC) 35} so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:

Jesus Interprets the Wheat and the Weeds

³⁶ Then He dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached Him and said, “Explain the parable of the weeds in the field to us.”^(AE)

³⁷ He replied: “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸ the field is the world; and the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,^{(AF) 39} and the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.^{(AG) 40} Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.^{(AH) 41} The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather from His kingdom everything that causes sin^[i] and those guilty of lawlessness.^{[j](AI) 42} They will throw them into the blazing furnace^(AJ) where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.^{(AK) 43} Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Anyone who has ears^[k] should listen!^(AL)

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and of the Priceless Pearl

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.^(AM)

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. ⁴⁶ When he found one priceless^[l] pearl, he went and sold everything he had, and bought it.^(AN)

The Parable of the Net

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish,^{(AO) 48} and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous,^{(AP) 50} and throw them into the blazing furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.^(AQ)

The Storehouse of Truth

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?”^[m]

“Yes,” they told Him.

⁵² “Therefore,” He said to them, “every student of Scripture^[n] instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who brings out of his storeroom what is new and what is old.”^{(AR) 53} When Jesus had finished these parables, He left there.

Rejection at Nazareth

⁵⁴ He went to His hometown^(AS) and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “How did this wisdom and these miracles come to Him?^{(AT) 55} Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?^(AU) Isn’t His mother called Mary, and His brothers James,^(AV) Joseph,^[o] Simon, and Judas?^{(AW) 56} And His sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does He get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they were offended by Him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household.”^{(AX) 58} And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.