Jesus Teaches in Parables

13 On that day Jesus had gone out of (A)the house and was sitting (B)by the sea. And large crowds gathered to Him, so (C)He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

And He told them many things in (D)parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil. But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell [a]among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a (E)hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much. (F)The one who has ears, [b]let him hear.”

An Explanation for Parables

10 And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 And [c]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 And [d]in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

[e](J)You shall keep on listening, [f]but shall not understand;
And [g]you shall keep on looking, [h]but shall not perceive;
15 (K)For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their heart, and return,
And I would heal them.’

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 people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Sower Explained

18 (N)Listen then to the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears (O)the [i]word of the kingdom and does not understand it, (P)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown with seed beside the road. 20 The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the [j]word, immediately he [k](Q)falls away. 22 And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of (R)the [l]world and the (S)deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it [m]becomes unfruitful. 23 But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some (T)a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.”

Weeds among Wheat

24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, (U)The kingdom of heaven [n]is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed [o]weeds among the wheat, and left. 26 And when the [p]wheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident. 27 And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? [q]How then does it have weeds?’ 28 And he said to them, ‘[r]An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he *said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but (V)gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed

31 He presented another parable to them, saying, (W)The kingdom of heaven is like (X)a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field; 32 and this is smaller than all the other seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that (Y)the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 13:7 Lit upon
  2. Matthew 13:9 Or hear! Or listen!
  3. Matthew 13:11 Lit He
  4. Matthew 13:14 Lit for them
  5. Matthew 13:14 Lit With a hearing you shall hear; a Heb idiom
  6. Matthew 13:14 Lit and
  7. Matthew 13:14 Lit Seeing you shall see
  8. Matthew 13:14 Lit and
  9. Matthew 13:19 I.e., message
  10. Matthew 13:21 I.e., message
  11. Matthew 13:21 I.e., from the faith
  12. Matthew 13:22 Or age
  13. Matthew 13:22 Or proves to be unfruitful
  14. Matthew 13:24 Lit has been compared to
  15. Matthew 13:25 Prob. darnel, a weed resembling wheat
  16. Matthew 13:26 Lit grass
  17. Matthew 13:27 Lit From where
  18. Matthew 13:28 Lit A hostile person

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