Matthew 13
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting beside the sea.
2 But such great crowds gathered about Him that He got into a boat and remained sitting there, while all the throng stood on the shore.
3 And He told them many things in parables (stories by way of illustration and comparison), saying, A sower went out to sow.
4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and ate them up.
5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil; and at once they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.
6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they dried up and withered away.
7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them out.
8 Other seeds fell on good soil, and yielded grain—some a hundred times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some thirty.
9 He who has ears [to hear], let him be listening and let him [a]consider and [b]perceive and comprehend by hearing.
10 Then the disciples came to Him and said, Why do You speak to them in parables?
11 And He replied to them, To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12 For whoever has [spiritual knowledge], to him will more be given and he will [c]be furnished richly so that he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
13 This is the reason that I speak to them in parables: because [d]having the power of seeing, they do not see; and [e]having the power of hearing, they do not hear, nor do they grasp and understand.
14 In them indeed is [f]the process of fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: You shall indeed hear and hear but never grasp and understand; and you shall indeed look and look but never see and perceive.
15 For this nation’s heart has grown gross (fat and dull), and their ears heavy and difficult of hearing, and their eyes they have tightly closed, lest they see and perceive with their eyes, and hear and comprehend the sense with their ears, and grasp and understand with their heart, and turn and I should heal them.(A)
16 But blessed (happy, fortunate, and [g]to be envied) are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear.
17 Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men [men who were upright and in right standing with God] yearned to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
18 Listen then to the [meaning of the] parable of the sower:
19 [h]While anyone is hearing the Word of the kingdom and does not grasp and comprehend it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the roadside.
20 As for what was sown on thin (rocky) soil, this is he who hears the Word and at once welcomes and accepts it with joy;
21 Yet it has no real root in him, but is temporary (inconstant, [i]lasts but a little while); and when affliction or trouble or persecution comes on account of the Word, at once he is caused to stumble [he is repelled and [j]begins to distrust and desert Him Whom he ought to trust and obey] and he falls away.
22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the Word, but the cares of the world and the pleasure and delight and glamour and deceitfulness of riches choke and suffocate the Word, and it yields no fruit.
23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the Word and grasps and comprehends it; he indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundred times as much as was sown, in another sixty times as much, and in another thirty.
24 Another parable He set forth before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
25 But while he was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed also darnel (weeds resembling wheat) among the wheat, and went on his way.
26 So when the plants sprouted and formed grain, the darnel (weeds) appeared also.
27 And the servants of the owner came to him and said, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then how does it have darnel shoots in it?
28 He replied to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Then do you want us to go and weed them out?
29 But he said, No, lest in gathering the wild wheat (weeds resembling wheat), you root up the [true] wheat along with it.
30 Let them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will say to the reapers, Gather the darnel first and bind it in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my granary.
31 Another story by way of comparison He set forth before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.
32 Of all the seeds it is the smallest, but when it has grown it is the largest of the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and find shelter in its branches.
33 He told them another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven ([k]sour dough) which a woman took and covered over in three measures of meal or flour till all of it was leavened.(B)
34 These things [l]all taken together Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, without a parable He said nothing to them.
35 This was in fulfillment of what was spoken by the prophet: I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things that have been hidden since the foundation of the world.(C)
36 Then He left the throngs and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him saying, Explain to us the parable of the darnel in the field.
37 He answered, He Who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38 The field is the world, and the good seed means the children of the kingdom; the darnel is the children of the evil one,
39 And the enemy who sowed it is the devil. The harvest is the close and consummation of the age, and the reapers are angels.
40 Just as the darnel (weeds resembling wheat) is gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the close of the age.
41 The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all causes of offense [[m]persons by whom others are drawn into error or sin] and all who do iniquity and act wickedly,
42 And will cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be weeping and wailing and grinding of teeth.
43 Then will the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with God) shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let him who has ears [to hear] be listening, and let him [n]consider and perceive and understand by hearing.(D)
44 The kingdom of heaven is like [o]something precious buried in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field.
45 Again the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a dealer in search of fine and [p]precious pearls,
46 Who, on finding a single pearl of great price, went and sold all he had and bought it.
47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a [q]dragnet which was cast into the sea and gathered in fish of every sort.
48 When it was full, men dragged it up on the beach, and sat down and sorted out the good fish into baskets, but the worthless ones they threw away.
49 So it will be at the close and consummation of the age. The angels will go forth and separate the wicked from the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with God)
50 And cast them [the wicked] into the furnace of fire; there will be weeping and wailing and grinding of teeth.
51 Have you understood [r]all these things [parables] taken together? They said to Him, Yes, Lord.
52 He said to them, Therefore every [s]teacher and interpreter of the Sacred Writings who has been instructed about and trained for the kingdom of heaven and has [t]become a disciple is like a householder who brings forth out of his storehouse treasure that is new and [treasure that is] old [the fresh as well as the familiar].
53 When Jesus had finished these parables (these comparisons), He left there.
54 And coming to His own country [Nazareth], He taught in their synagogue so that they were amazed with bewildered wonder, and said, Where did this [u]Man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?
55 Is not this the carpenter’s Son? Is not His mother called Mary? And are not His brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
56 And do not all His sisters live here among us? Where then did this Man get all this?
57 And they took offense at Him [they were repelled and hindered from acknowledging His authority, and caused to stumble]. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.
58 And He did not do many works of power there, because of their unbelief (their lack of faith [v]in the divine mission of Jesus).
Footnotes
- Matthew 13:9 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 13:9 G. Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon.
- Matthew 13:12 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 13:13 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 13:13 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 13:14 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
- Matthew 13:16 Alexander Souter, Pocket Lexicon.
- Matthew 13:19 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
- Matthew 13:21 John Wycliffe, The Wycliffe Bible.
- Matthew 13:21 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 13:33 John Wycliffe, The Wycliffe Bible.
- Matthew 13:34 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 13:41 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 13:43 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 13:44 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 13:45 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 13:47 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
- Matthew 13:51 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 13:52 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
- Matthew 13:52 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
- Matthew 13:54 See footnote on Matt. 2:8.
- Matthew 13:58 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
Matthew 13
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
Jesus Teaches The Crowds Using Parables
13 On that day Jesus, having gone out of the house, sat beside the sea. 2 And large crowds were gathered-together with Him so that He, having gotten into a boat, sits-down [to teach]. And the whole crowd was standing on the shore. 3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying—
The Sower’s Seed Falls On Different Kinds of Soil. Only The Good Soil Produces Fruit
“Behold— the one sowing went out that he might sow. 4 And during his sowing, some seeds fell along the road. And having come, the birds ate them up. 5 And others fell on the rocky[a] places where they were not having much soil. And immediately they sprang-up, because of not having a depth of soil. 6 But the sun having risen, they were scorched. And because of not having a root, they were dried-up. 7 And others fell on the thorns. And the thorns came up and choked[b] them. 8 And others fell on the good soil and were giving fruit— one a hundred, and another sixty, and another thirty. 9 Let the one having ears, hear”.
Jesus Tells His Disciples He Uses Parables To Both Hide And Reveal The Truth
10 And having come to Him, the disciples said to Him, “For what reason are You speaking to them in parables?” 11 And the One, having responded, said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know[c] the mysteries[d] of the kingdom of the heavens. But it has not been given to those ones. 12 For whoever has— it will be given to him, and he will be caused to abound. But whoever does not have— even what he has will be taken-away from him. 13 For this reason I am speaking to them in parables— because while seeing, they are not seeing; and while hearing, they are not hearing, nor understanding. 14 And the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled in them, the one[e] saying [in Isa 6:9-10]: ‘In hearing, you will hear and by no means understand. And while seeing, you will see and by no means perceive. 15 For the heart of this people became dull[f], and they hardly[g] heard with their ears, and they closed their eyes that[h] they might not ever see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand in their heart and turn-back, and I shall heal[i] them’. 16 But blessed[j] are your eyes because they are seeing, and your ears, because they are hearing. 17 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous ones desired to experience[k] the things which you are seeing, and they did not experience them, and to hear the things which you are hearing, and they did not hear them.
Jesus Explains The Parable of The Sower To His Disciples
18 “You therefore, hear the parable of the one having sown: 19 Anyone hearing the word[l] of the kingdom and not understanding it— the evil one comes and snatches-away the thing having been sown in his heart. This person is the one having been sown the seed along the road. 20 And the one having been sown the seed on the rocky places— this person is the one hearing the word and immediately receiving it with joy. 21 And he does not have a root in himself, but is temporary[m]. And affliction or persecution having come about because of the word— immediately he is caused-to-fall. 22 And the one having been sown the seed into the thorns— this person is the one hearing the word, and the anxiety[n] of the age[o] and the deceitfulness[p] of riches is choking the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 And the one having been sown the seed on the good soil— this person is the one hearing the word and understanding[q] it, who indeed[r] is bearing-fruit[s] and producing: one a hundred, and another sixty, and another thirty”.
A Field Is Sown With Good And Bad Seed: At Harvest The Weeds Will Be Burned
24 He put-before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens became-like[t] a man having sown good seed in his field. 25 But during the men’s sleeping, his enemy came and re-sowed[u] darnel[v] between the wheat, and went away. 26 Now when the grass budded and produced fruit[w], then the darnel appeared also. 27 And having come to him, the slaves of the house-master said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then from where does it have the darnel?’ 28 And the one said to them, ‘A hostile man did this’. And the slaves say to him, ‘Then do you want us, having gone, to collect them?’ 29 But the one says, ‘No, that while collecting the darnel, you may not perhaps uproot the wheat together with them. 30 Permit both to grow together until the harvest. And at the time of the harvest I will say to the harvesters, “Collect first the darnel, and bind them into bundles so-as to burn them up. But gather the wheat into my barn”’”.
The Mustard Seed: God’s Kingdom Will Start Very Small And Grow Very Large
31 He put-before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens is like a seed of a mustard-plant, which having taken, a man sowed in his field— 32 which is smaller than all the seeds, but when it grows is larger than the garden-plants. And it becomes a tree[x], so that the birds of the heaven come and are nesting in its branches”.
Like Leaven In Bread, God’s Kingdom Will Permeate The World
33 He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which having taken, a woman concealed[y] into three measures[z] of wheat-flour until which time the whole thing was leavened”.
Jesus Spoke In Parables In Fulfillment of Psalm 78:2
34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. And He was speaking nothing to them apart from a parable, 35 so that the thing might be fulfilled having been spoken through the prophet saying “I will open My mouth in parables. I will utter things having been hidden since the foundation of the world” [Ps 78:2].
Jesus Teaches His Disciples Using Parables
36 Then, having left the crowds, He went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Make-clear to us the parable of the darnel of the field”. 37 And the One, having responded, said—
Jesus Explains The Parable of The Good And Bad Seed Sown In The Field
“The one sowing the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 And the field is the world. And the good seed— these are the sons of [aa] the kingdom. And the darnel are the sons of the evil one. 39 And the enemy having sown them is the devil. And the harvest is the conclusion of the age. And the harvesters are angels. 40 Therefore, just as the darnel is collected and burned up with fire, so it will be at the conclusion of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will collect out of His kingdom all the causes-of-falling and the ones doing lawlessness. 42 And they will throw them into the furnace of [ab] fire. In that place, there will be the weeping and the grinding of teeth. 43 Then the righteous ones will shine-forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let the one having ears, hear.
God’s Kingdom Is Like a Hidden Treasure Worth Selling All You Have To Obtain
44 “The kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure having been hidden in the field, which having found, a man hid. And from his joy[ac], he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls. 46 And having found one very-valuable pearl, having gone, he has sold all that he was having, and he bought it.
God’s Kingdom Is Like a Net Catching Every Kind of Fish. The Bad Are Thrown Out
47 “Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a drag-net[ad] having been cast into the sea and having gathered fish of every kind— 48 which, when it was filled, having pulled it up on the shore, and having sat-down, they collected the good ones into containers and threw the bad[ae] ones outside. 49 So it will be at the conclusion of the age. The angels will go forth and separate the evil ones out of the midst of the righteous ones. 50 And they will throw them into the furnace of fire. In that place, there will be the weeping and the grinding of teeth.
Teachers in My Kingdom Will Expound From a Treasure of Old And New Things
51 “Did you understand all these things?” They say to Him, “Yes”. 52 And the One said to them, “For this reason[af], every scribe[ag] having become-a-disciple[ah] in[ai] the kingdom of the heavens is like a man who is a house-master, who brings out new things and old[aj] things from his treasure”.
The Hometown People Are Astounded At Jesus, But Unbelieving
53 And it came about that when Jesus finished these parables, He went-away from there. 54 And having come into His hometown[ak], He was teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astounded and saying “From where did this wisdom and the miracles come to this One? 55 Is not this One the son of the carpenter? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Jude[al]? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? From where then did all these things come to this One?” 57 And they were taking-offense[am] at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without-honor except in his hometown and in his house”. 58 And He did not do many[an] miracles there because of their unbelief.
Footnotes
- Matthew 13:5 That is, bedrock or rocky outcroppings.
- Matthew 13:7 Or, strangled, suffocated.
- Matthew 13:11 Or, understand.
- Matthew 13:11 That is, the things formerly hidden, but now being revealed by Jesus.
- Matthew 13:14 That is, the prophecy saying.
- Matthew 13:15 Or, thick, fat, insensitive.
- Matthew 13:15 That is, with difficulty. They are spiritually hard of hearing.
- Matthew 13:15 This expresses the purpose of the people. They willfully closed their eyes to God that they might not ever see what they did not want to see, and never have to change their ways and return to God.
- Matthew 13:15 Or, would heal. This is what God would do if they saw, heard, understood, and turned back, but they refuse to take this path.
- Matthew 13:16 Or, fortunate.
- Matthew 13:17 Or, see, but not the same word as next.
- Matthew 13:19 Or, message.
- Matthew 13:21 Or, transitory.
- Matthew 13:22 Or, concern, care.
- Matthew 13:22 Or, world; that is, this life.
- Matthew 13:22 Or, deception.
- Matthew 13:23 This is in contrast with the first soil, v 19.
- Matthew 13:23 Or, now, at this time; or, therefore.
- Matthew 13:23 This is in contrast with the second two soils.
- Matthew 13:24 Or, was like. Jesus may be speaking prophetically from the point of view of the end of the age; or, He may mean this in a timeless sense, ‘is like’.
- Matthew 13:25 Or, over-sowed.
- Matthew 13:25 This is a weed that is indistinguishable from wheat in its early stages.
- Matthew 13:26 That is, heads of grain.
- Matthew 13:32 That is, in relative size. Compare Mk 4:32.
- Matthew 13:33 Or, hid in. Normally, we would say ‘mixed into’, but this puts emphasis on the mixer and the mixing. Jesus is putting emphasis on the hiddenness of the leaven within the flour, and its transforming of the whole from within.
- Matthew 13:33 Or seah, a Hebrew measure, amounting here to about six gallons or 25 liters, a batch size seen in Gen 18:6.
- Matthew 13:38 That is, belonging to.
- Matthew 13:42 That is, characterized by fire; the fiery furnace.
- Matthew 13:44 Or, from the joy of it.
- Matthew 13:47 That is, a large fishing net deployed from a boat.
- Matthew 13:48 good... bad. That is, the ‘fit’ to eat versus the ‘unusable’.
- Matthew 13:52 That is, because the disciples now understand these new truths.
- Matthew 13:52 That is, expert on the OT.
- Matthew 13:52 Or, having been discipled, made a disciple.
- Matthew 13:52 Or, for.
- Matthew 13:52 His treasure now contains old truths and new (previously hidden) truths about the kingdom of Messiah. This scribe can now expound both.
- Matthew 13:54 That is, Nazareth.
- Matthew 13:55 Or, Judas, Judah.
- Matthew 13:57 Or, being caused to fall.
- Matthew 13:58 Or, great.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
