Isaiah 55

English Standard Version

The Compassion of the Lord

55 ^(A)“Come, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    ^(B)come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
²^(C)Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.
³Incline your ear, and come to me;
    ^(D)hear, that your soul may live;
^(E)and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
    ^(F)my steadfast, sure love for ^(G)David.
⁴^(H)Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
    ^(I)a leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵^(J)Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
    and ^(K)a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
    ^(L)for he has glorified you.

⁶^(M)“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;
⁷let the wicked forsake his way,
    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
⁹^(N)For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰^(O)“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    ^(P)giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but ^(Q)it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

¹²^(R)“For you shall go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
^(S)the mountains and the hills before you
    shall break forth into singing,
    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³^(T)Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
    an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

Matthew 13:18-52

English Standard Version

The Parable of the Sower Explained

¹⁸^(A)“Hear then the parable of the sower: ¹⁹When anyone hears the word of ^(B)the kingdom and ^(C)does not understand it, ^(D)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. ²⁰As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately ^(E)receives it with joy, ²¹yet he has no root in himself, but ^(F)endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^(G)he falls away.^[a] ²²As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ^(H)the cares of ^(I)the world and ^(J)the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²³As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and ^(K)understands it. He indeed ^(L)bears fruit and yields, in one case ^(M)a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

²⁴He put another parable before them, saying, ^(N)“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds^[b] among the wheat and went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. ²⁷And the servants^[c] 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?’ ²⁸He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹But he said, ^(O)‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ^(P)“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

³¹He put another parable before them, saying, ^(Q)“The kingdom of heaven is like ^(R)a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³²It 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.”

³³He told them another parable. ^(S)“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ^(T)three measures of flour, till it was ^(U)all leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

³⁴^(V)All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. ³⁵This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:^[d]

^(W)“I will open my mouth in parables;
^(X)I will utter what has been hidden ^(Y)since the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶Then he left the crowds and went into ^(Z)the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ^(AA)“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 is ^(AB)the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are ^(AC)the sons of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. ^(AD)The harvest is ^(AE)the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the weeds ^(AF)are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at ^(AG)the end of the age. ⁴¹^(AH)The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all ^(AI)causes of sin and ^(AJ)all law-breakers, ⁴²^(AK)and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^(AL)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then ^(AM)the righteous will shine like the sun ^(AN)in the kingdom of their Father. ^(AO)He who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven ^(AP)is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy ^(AQ)he goes and sells all that he has and ^(AR)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, ⁴⁶who, on finding ^(AS)one pearl of great value, ^(AT)went and sold all that he had and ^(AU)bought it.

The Parable of the Net

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is ^(AV)like a net that was thrown into the sea and ^(AW)gathered fish of every kind. ⁴⁸When it was full, ^(AX)men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. ⁴⁹So it will be at ^(AY)the end of the age. The angels will come out and ^(AZ)separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰^(BA)and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^(BB)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

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