Matthew 13:1-17

New American Standard Bible 1995

Jesus Teaches in Parables

13 That day Jesus went out of ^(A)the house and was sitting ^(B)by the sea. ² And ^[a]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 spoke many things to them 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 immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. ⁶ But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Others fell ^[b]among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. ⁸ And others fell on the good soil and *yielded a crop, some a ^(E)hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. ^9 (F)He who has ears, ^[c]let him hear.”

An Explanation

¹⁰ And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” ^11 [d]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 [e]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 men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.