The Parable of the Seed Growing

²⁶ And he said, ^(A)“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; ^(B)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 ^(C)he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

^30 (D)And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? ³¹ It is like ^(E)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 (F)With many such parables he spoke ^(G)the word to them, ^(H)as they were able to hear it. ³⁴ He did not speak to them ^(I)without a parable, but ^(J)privately to his own disciples he ^(K)explained everything.

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

^18 (A)He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? ¹⁹ It is like ^(B)a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”

²⁰ And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? ^21 (C)It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ^(D)three measures of flour, until it was ^(E)all leavened.”

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 Mustard Seed and the Leaven

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

Prophecy and Parables

^34 (I)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:^[c]

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

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

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

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

The Parable of the Net

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

New and Old Treasures

^51 (AP)“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” ⁵² And he said to them, “Therefore every ^(AQ)scribe ^(AR)who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who ^(AS)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 (AT)and coming to ^(AU)his hometown ^(AV)he taught them in their synagogue, so that ^(AW)they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ^55 (AX)Is not this ^(AY)the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not ^(AZ)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 ^(BA)they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, ^(BB)“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, ^(BC)because of their unbelief.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

6 ^(A)He went away from there and came to ^(B)his hometown, and his disciples followed him. ² And ^(C)on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and ^(D)many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? ^3 (E)Is not this ^(F)the carpenter, the son of Mary and ^(G)brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And ^(H)they took offense at him. ⁴ And Jesus said to them, ^(I)“A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” ⁵ And ^(J)he could do no mighty work there, except that ^(K)he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And ^(L)he marveled because of their unbelief.

^(M)And he went about among the villages teaching.