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, ^(A)“To you it has been given to know ^(B)the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ^12 (C)For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, ^(D)even what he has will be taken away. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables, because ^(E)seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, ^(F)nor do they understand. ¹⁴ Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

¹⁶ But ^(L)blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ^17 (M)For truly, I say to you, ^(N)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 (O)“Hear then the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of ^(P)the kingdom and ^(Q)does not understand it, ^(R)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 ^(S)receives it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but ^(T)endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^(U)he falls away.^{[a] 22} As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ^(V)the cares of ^(W)the world and ^(X)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 ^(Y)understands it. He indeed ^(Z)bears fruit and yields, in one case ^(AA)a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Purpose of the Parables

⁹ And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, ¹⁰ he said, ^(A)“To you it has been given to know ^(B)the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so ^(C)that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ ^11 (D)Now the parable is this: The seed is ^(E)the word of God. ¹² The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not ^(F)believe and be saved. ¹³ And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it ^(G)with joy. But these have no root; they ^(H)believe for a while, and in time of testing ^(I)fall away. ¹⁴ And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but ^(J)as they go on their way they are choked by the ^(K)cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵ As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and ^(L)bear fruit ^(M)with patience.

A Lamp Under a Jar

^16 (N)(O)“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ^17 (P)For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. ^18 (Q)Take care then how you hear, ^(R)for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

A Lamp Under a Basket

^21 (A)And he said to them, ^(B)“Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? ^22 (C)For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. ^23 (D)If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” ²⁴ And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: ^(E)with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. ^25 (F)For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

The Parable of the Seed Growing

²⁶ And he said, ^(G)“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. ²⁷ He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; ^(H)he knows not how. ²⁸ The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. ²⁹ But when the grain is ripe, at once ^(I)he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Weeds

²⁴ He put another parable before them, saying, ^(A)“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^[a] 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^[b] 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, ^(B)‘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, ^(C)“Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

^30 (A)And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? ³¹ It is like ^(B)a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, ³² yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

^33 (C)With many such parables he spoke ^(D)the word to them, ^(E)as they were able to hear it. ³⁴ He did not speak to them ^(F)without a parable, but ^(G)privately to his own disciples he ^(H)explained everything.

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

³¹ He put another parable before them, saying, ^(A)“The kingdom of heaven is like ^(B)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. ^(C)“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ^(D)three measures of flour, till it was ^(E)all leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

^34 (F)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:^[a]

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then he left the crowds and went into ^(J)the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ^(K)“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 ^(L)the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are ^(M)the sons of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. ^(N)The harvest is ^(O)the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ Just as the weeds ^(P)are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at ^(Q)the end of the age. ^41 (R)The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all ^(S)causes of sin and ^(T)all law-breakers, ^42 (U)and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^(V)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then ^(W)the righteous will shine like the sun ^(X)in the kingdom of their Father. ^(Y)He who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven ^(Z)is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy ^(AA)he goes and sells all that he has and ^(AB)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 ^(AC)one pearl of great value, ^(AD)went and sold all that he had and ^(AE)bought it.

The Parable of the Net

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

New and Old Treasures

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

Jesus Calms a Storm

^35 (A)On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” ³⁶ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves ^(B)were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. ³⁸ But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ And he awoke and ^(C)rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and ^(D)there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ He said to them, “Why are you ^(E)so afraid? Have you still no faith?” ⁴¹ And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ^(F)“Who then is this, that even ^(G)the wind and the sea obey him?”

Jesus Calms a Storm

^23 (A)And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴ And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but ^(B)he was asleep. ²⁵ And they went and woke him, saying, ^(C)“Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” ²⁶ And he said to them, “Why are you ^(D)afraid, ^(E)O you of little faith?” Then he rose and ^(F)rebuked the winds and the sea, and ^(G)there was a great calm. ²⁷ And the men ^(H)marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even ^(I)winds and sea obey him?”