Vision of the Glory of God Filling the Temple

43 Then he led me to the ^(A)gate, the gate facing east; ² and behold, the ^(B)glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the ^(C)east. And His ^(D)voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth ^(E)shone from His glory. ³ And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the ^(F)vision which I saw when ^[a]He came to ^(G)destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the ^(H)river Chebar; and I ^(I)fell on my face. ⁴ And the glory of the Lord entered the house by way of the gate facing ^(J)east. ⁵ And the ^(K)Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner courtyard; and behold, the ^(L)glory of the Lord filled the house.

⁶ Then I heard Him speaking to me from the house, while a ^(M)man was standing beside me. ⁷ And He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My ^(N)throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will ^(O)dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their prostitution and by the ^[b](P)corpses of their kings ^[c]when they die, ⁸ by putting their threshold by My threshold, and their door post beside My door post, with only the wall between Me and them. And they have ^(Q)defiled My holy name by their abominations which they have committed. So I have consumed them in My anger. ⁹ Now let them ^(R)remove their prostitution and the ^[d]corpses of their kings far from Me, and I will ^(S)dwell among them forever.

¹⁰ “As for you, son of man, ^(T)inform the house of Israel of the ^[e]temple, so that they will be ^(U)ashamed of their wrongdoings; and have them measure the ^[f](V)plan. ¹¹ And if they are ashamed of everything that they have done, make known to them the plan of the house, its layout, its ^(W)exits, its entrances, all its plans, all its ^[g]statutes, and all its laws. And write it ^(X)in their sight, so that they may observe its entire plan and all its statutes and ^(Y)execute them. ¹² This is the ^[h]law of the house: its entire ^[i]area on the top of the ^(Z)mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the ^[j]law of the house.

The Altar of Sacrifice

¹³ “And these are the measurements of the ^(AA)altar by cubits (the ^(AB)cubit being a ^[k]cubit and a hand width): the ^[l]base shall be a cubit and the width a cubit, and its border on its edge all around one span; and this shall be the height of the ^[m]base of the altar. ¹⁴ And from the base on the ground to the lower ^(AC)ledge shall be two cubits, and the width one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge shall be four cubits, and the width ^[n]one cubit. ¹⁵ The ^[o]altar hearth shall be four cubits; and from the ^[p]altar hearth shall extend upward four ^(AD)horns. ¹⁶ Now the ^[q]altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve wide, ^(AE)square in its four sides. ¹⁷ And the ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide in its four sides, the border around it shall be half a cubit, and its base shall be a cubit all around; and its ^(AF)steps shall ^[r](AG)face east.”

The Offerings

¹⁸ And He said to me, “^(AH)Son of man, this is what the Lord ^[s]God says: ‘These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is built, to offer ^(AI)burnt offerings on it and to ^(AJ)sprinkle blood on it. ¹⁹ You shall give to the Levitical priests who are from the descendants of ^(AK)Zadok, who come ^(AL)near to Me to serve Me,’ declares the Lord God, ‘a ^[t](AM)bull as a ^(AN)sin offering. ²⁰ And you shall take some of its blood and put it on its four ^(AO)horns and on the four corners of the ^(AP)ledge, and on the border all around; so you shall ^(AQ)cleanse it and make atonement for it. ²¹ You shall also take the bull as the sin offering, and it shall be ^(AR)burned in the appointed place of the house, outside the sanctuary.

²² ‘And on the second day you shall offer a ^(AS)male goat without blemish as a sin offering, and they shall ^(AT)cleanse the altar from sin as they cleansed it with the bull. ²³ When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a ^[u](AU)bull without blemish and a ^(AV)ram without blemish from the flock. ²⁴ You shall offer them before the Lord, and the priests shall throw ^(AW)salt on them, and they shall offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord. ^25 (AX)For seven days you shall prepare a goat as a sin offering daily; also a ^[v]bull and a ram from the flock, both without blemish, shall be prepared. ²⁶ For seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they ^[w]consecrate it. ²⁷ When they have completed the days, it shall be that on the ^(AY)eighth day and onward, the priests shall ^[x]offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your ^(AZ)peace offerings; and I will ^(BA)accept you,’ declares the Lord God.”

Jesus Teaches in Parables

13 On that day Jesus had gone out of ^(A)the house and was sitting ^(B)by the sea. ² And large crowds gathered to Him, so ^(C)He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

³ And He told them many things in ^(D)parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴ and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵ Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil. ⁶ But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Others fell ^[a]among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. ⁸ But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a ^(E)hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much. ^9 (F)The one who has ears, ^[b]let him hear.”

An Explanation for Parables

¹⁰ And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And ^[c]Jesus answered them, “^(G)To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. ^12 (H)For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. ¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while ^(I)seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ And ^[d]in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

^16 (L)But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I say to you that ^(M)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 Sower Explained

¹⁸ “^(N)Listen then to the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ When anyone hears ^(O)the ^[i]word of the kingdom and does not understand it, ^(P)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown with seed beside the road. ²⁰ The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the ^[j]word, immediately he ^[k](Q)falls away. ²² And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of ^(R)the ^[l]world and the ^(S)deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it ^[m]becomes unfruitful. ²³ But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some ^(T)a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.”

Weeds among Wheat

²⁴ Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “^(U)The kingdom of heaven ^[n]is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed ^[o]weeds among the wheat, and left. ²⁶ And when the ^[p]wheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident. ²⁷ And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? ^[q]How then does it have weeds?’ ²⁸ And he said to them, ‘^[r]An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹ But he *said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but ^(V)gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed

³¹ He presented another parable to them, saying, “^(W)The kingdom of heaven is like ^(X)a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field; ³² and this is smaller than all the other seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that ^(Y)the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”

The Leaven

³³ He spoke another parable to them: “^(Z)The kingdom of heaven is like ^[s]leaven, which a woman took and hid in ^(AA)three ^[t]sata of flour until it was all leavened.”

³⁴ All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak anything to them ^(AB)without a parable. ³⁵ This was so that what was spoken through the prophet would be ^[u]fulfilled:

The Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then He left the crowds and went into ^(AD)the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “^(AE)Explain to us the parable of the ^[v]weeds of the field.” ³⁷ And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is ^(AF)the Son of Man, ³⁸ and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are ^(AG)the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are ^(AH)the sons of ^(AI)the evil one; ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is ^(AJ)the ^[w]end of the age; and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at ^(AK)the ^[x]end of the age. ^41 (AL)The Son of Man ^(AM)will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom ^[y]all ^(AN)stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, ⁴² and they ^(AO)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place ^(AP)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ^43 (AQ)Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. ^(AR)The one who has ears, ^[z]let him hear.

Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴ “^(AS)The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from ^[aa]joy over it he goes and ^(AT)sells everything that he has, and buys that field.

A Costly Pearl

⁴⁵ “Again, ^(AU)the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, ⁴⁶ and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it.

A Dragnet

⁴⁷ “Again, ^(AV)the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; ⁴⁸ and when it was filled, they pulled it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. ⁴⁹ So it will be at ^(AW)the ^[ab]end of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous, ⁵⁰ and they ^(AX)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place ^(AY)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” ⁵² And ^[ac]Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure new things and old.”

Jesus Revisits Nazareth

^53 (AZ)When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. ⁵⁴ And ^(BA)He came to ^[ad]His hometown and ^(BB)began teaching them in their synagogue, with the result that ^(BC)they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man acquire this wisdom and these ^[ae]miraculous powers? ⁵⁵ Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is ^(BD)His mother not called Mary, and His ^(BE)brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶ And ^(BF)His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man acquire all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took ^(BG)offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “^(BH)A prophet is not dishonored except in his ^[af]hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸ And He did not do many ^[ag]miracles there because of their unbelief.

The Lord, an Abundant Helper.