Matthew 12:30-13:44

English Standard Version

^30 (A)Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ^31 (B)Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but ^(C)the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² And whoever speaks a word ^(D)against the Son of Man ^(E)will be forgiven, but ^(F)whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in ^(G)this age or in the age to come.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

^33 (H)“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, ^(I)for the tree is known by its fruit. ^34 (J)You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, ^(K)when you are evil? ^(L)For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ^35 (M)The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. ³⁶ I tell you, ^(N)on the day of judgment ^(O)people will give account for ^(P)every careless word they speak, ³⁷ for ^(Q)by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, ^(R)we wish to see a sign from you.” ³⁹ But he answered them, ^(S)“An evil and ^(T)adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For ^(U)just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, ^(V)so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ^41 (W)The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^(X)condemn it, for ^(Y)they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^(Z)something greater than Jonah is here. ^42 (AA)The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, ^(AB)something greater than Solomon is here.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

⁴³ “When ^(AC)the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ^(AD)waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and ^(AE)the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this ^(AF)evil generation.”

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

⁴⁶ While he was still speaking to the people, behold, ^(AG)his mother and his ^(AH)brothers^[a] stood outside, asking to speak to him.^{[b] 48} But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰ For ^(AI)whoever ^(AJ)does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

The Parable of the Sower

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house ^(AK)and sat beside the sea. ² And great crowds gathered about him, ^(AL)so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³ And ^(AM)he told them many things in parables, saying: ^(AN)“A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ⁶ but ^(AO)when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, ^(AP)they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among ^(AQ)thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some ^(AR)a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ^9 (AS)He who has ears,^[c] let him hear.”

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

¹⁶ But ^(BE)blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ^17 (BF)For truly, I say to you, ^(BG)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 (BH)“Hear then the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of ^(BI)the kingdom and ^(BJ)does not understand it, ^(BK)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 ^(BL)receives it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but ^(BM)endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^(BN)he falls away.^{[d] 22} As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ^(BO)the cares of ^(BP)the world and ^(BQ)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 ^(BR)understands it. He indeed ^(BS)bears fruit and yields, in one case ^(BT)a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

²⁴ He put another parable before them, saying, ^(BU)“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^[e] 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^[f] 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, ^(BV)‘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, ^(BW)“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, ^(BX)“The kingdom of heaven is like ^(BY)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. ^(BZ)“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ^(CA)three measures of flour, till it was ^(CB)all leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

^34 (CC)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:^[g]

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then he left the crowds and went into ^(CG)the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ^(CH)“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 ^(CI)the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are ^(CJ)the sons of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. ^(CK)The harvest is ^(CL)the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ Just as the weeds ^(CM)are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at ^(CN)the end of the age. ^41 (CO)The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all ^(CP)causes of sin and ^(CQ)all law-breakers, ^42 (CR)and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^(CS)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then ^(CT)the righteous will shine like the sun ^(CU)in the kingdom of their Father. ^(CV)He who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven ^(CW)is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy ^(CX)he goes and sells all that he has and ^(CY)buys that field.