Matthew 13:45-14:21

New King James Version

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, ⁴⁶ who, when he had found ^(A)one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Dragnet

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and ^(B)gathered some of every kind, ⁴⁸ which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, ^(C)separate the wicked from among the just, ⁵⁰ and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

^51 [a]Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?”

They said to Him, “Yes, ^[b]Lord.”

⁵² Then He said to them, “Therefore every ^[c]scribe instructed ^[d]concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure ^(D)things new and old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth^(E)

⁵³ Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. ^54 (F)When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ^55 (G)Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And ^(H)His brothers ^(I)James, ^[e]Joses, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶ And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ So they ^(J)were offended at Him.

But Jesus said to them, ^(K)“A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” ⁵⁸ Now ^(L)He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

John the Baptist Beheaded^(M)

14 At that time ^(N)Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus ² and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.” ^3 (O)For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. ⁴ Because John had said to him, ^(P)“It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, ^(Q)because they counted him as a prophet.

⁶ But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. ⁷ Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.

⁸ So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.”

⁹ And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. ¹⁰ So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. ¹¹ And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

Feeding the Five Thousand^(R)

^13 (S)When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. ¹⁴ And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He ^(T)was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. ^15 (U)When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”

¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷ And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

¹⁸ He said, “Bring them here to Me.” ¹⁹ Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, ^(V)He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. ²⁰ So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. ²¹ Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.