Matthew 13
Revised Geneva Translation
13 The same day, Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the seaside.
2 And great multitudes gathered to Him, so that He went into a ship and sat down. And the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, a sower went out to sow.
4 “And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside. And the birds came and devoured them.
5 “And some fell upon stony ground, where they did not have much earth. And soon they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.
6 “But when the Sun came up, they were burnt up; and for lack of rooting, withered away.
7 “And some fell among thorns. And the thorns sprang up and choked them.
8 But some fell in good ground, and brought forth fruit; one corn a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and another thirtyfold.
9 “The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10 Then the disciples came, and said to Him, “Why did You speak to them in parables?”
11 And He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven. But to them it is not given.
12 “For whoever has, to him shall be given. And he shall have abundance. But whoever does not have, even that which he has shall be taken away from him.
13 “Therefore, I speak to them in parables. Because they, seeing, do not see. And hearing, they do not hear, nor understand.
14 “So in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled which says, ‘By hearing you shall hear and shall not understand; and seeing, you shall see and shall not perceive.
15 “‘For this people’s heart has grown fat and their ears barely hear and they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and should understand with their hearts and should return, that I might heal them.’
16 “But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.
17 “For truly I say to you that many Prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear and have not heard them.
18 “Therefore, hear the parable of the Sower.
19 “Whenever anyone hears the Word of the Kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away that which was sown in his heart. And this is the one who has received the seed by the wayside.
20 “And the one who received seed in the stony ground, is he who hears the Word, and immediately, with joy, receives it,
21 “but he has no root in himself and endures but a season. For as soon as trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, he quickly stumbles.
22 “And the one who receives the seed among thorns, is he who hears the Word, but the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word. And it is made unfruitful.
23 “But the one who receives the seed in the good ground, is he who hears the Word and understands it, who also bears fruit and brings forth; some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold.”
24 He put forth another parable to them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
25 “But while the man slept, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went his way.
26 “And when the blade had sprung up and brought forth fruit, the weeds also appeared.
27 “Then the servants of the landowner came, and said to him, ‘Master, did not you sow good seed in your field? From where have these weeds come?’
28 “And he said to them, ‘Some envious man has done this.’ Then the servants said to him, ‘Do you wish us to go and gather them up?’
29 “But he said, ‘No, lest while you are gathering the weeds you also pluck up the wheat with them.
30 “‘Let both grow together until the harvest. And at harvest time I will say to the reapers, “First, gather the weeds, and bind them in sheaves to burn them. But gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
31 He put forth another parable to them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man takes and sows in his field,
32 “which indeed is the least of all seeds. But when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs. And it becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and build in its branches.”
33 He spoke another parable to them, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till all was leavened.”
34 Jesus spoke all these things to the multitude in parables. And He did not speak to them without parables.
35 So that which was spoken by the Prophet might be fulfilled, which says, “I will open my mouth in parables, and will utter the things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.”
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of that field.”
37 Then He answered, and said to them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38 “And the field is the world. And the good seed are the children of the Kingdom. And the weeds are the children of the evil one.
39 “And the enemy who sows them is the devil. And the harvest is the end of the world. And the reapers are the angels.
40 “Just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be at the end of this world.
41 “The Son of Man shall send forth His angels. And they shall gather all stumbling blocks out of His Kingdom, and those who do iniquity,
42 “and shall cast them into a furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 “Then shall the just shine as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.
44 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure, hidden in the field. Which, when a man has found, he hides it. And for joy thereof, departs and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant man who seeks good pearls,
46 “Who, having found a pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a draw net, cast into the sea, which gathers of all kinds of things;
48 “which, when it is full, they draw to land, and sit and gather the good into vessels, and cast away the bad.
49 “So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go forth, and separate the bad from among the just;
50 “and shall cast them into a furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
51 Jesus said to them, “Do you understand all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
52 Then He said to them, “Therefore, every scribe who is taught about the Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who brings forth, out of his treasure, things both new and old.”
53 And it happened that when Jesus had ended these parables, He departed from there,
54 and came into His own country, and taught them in their synagogue (so that they were astonished, and said, “From where does this wisdom and these great works come to this man?”
55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 “And are not his sisters all with us? From where, then, did he get all these things?”).
57 And they were offended by Him. Then 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 great works there, because of their unbelief.
Matthew 13
New King James Version
The Parable of the Sower(A)
13 On the same day Jesus went out of the house (B)and sat by the sea. 2 (C)And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that (D)He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: (E)“Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some (F)a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 (G)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Purpose of Parables(H)
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11 He answered and said to them, “Because (I)it has been given to you to know the [a]mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 (J)For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
(K)‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not (L)perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears (M)are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have (N)closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I [b]should (O)heal them.’
16 But (P)blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you (Q)that 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.
The Parable of the Sower Explained(R)
18 (S)“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word (T)of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately (U)receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when (V)tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately (W)he stumbles. 22 Now (X)he who received seed (Y)among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears (Z)fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but (AA)gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed(AB)
31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: (AC)“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a (AD)tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
The Parable of the Leaven(AE)
33 (AF)Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three [c]measures of meal till (AG)it was all leavened.”
Prophecy and the Parables
34 (AH)All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
(AI)“I will open My mouth in parables;
(AJ)I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”
The Parable of the Tares Explained
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”
37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 (AK)The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are (AL)the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, (AM)the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, (AN)and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 (AO)and will cast them into the furnace of fire. (AP)There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 (AQ)Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. (AR)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and (AS)sells all that he has and (AT)buys that field.
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 (AU)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 (AV)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, (AW)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 [d]Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?”
They said to Him, “Yes, [e]Lord.”
52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every [f]scribe instructed [g]concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure (AX)things new and old.”
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth(AY)
53 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. 54 (AZ)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 (BA)Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And (BB)His brothers (BC)James, [h]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 (BD)were offended at Him.
But Jesus said to them, (BE)“A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” 58 Now (BF)He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Footnotes
- Matthew 13:11 secret or hidden truths
- Matthew 13:15 NU, M would
- Matthew 13:33 Gr. sata, same as a Heb. seah; approximately 2 pecks in all
- Matthew 13:51 NU omits Jesus said to them
- Matthew 13:51 NU omits Lord
- Matthew 13:52 A scholar of the Old Testament
- Matthew 13:52 Or for
- Matthew 13:55 NU Joseph
Matthew 13
Living Bible
13 Later that same day, Jesus left the house and went down to the shore, 2-3 where an immense crowd soon gathered. He got into a boat and taught from it while the people listened on the beach. He used many illustrations such as this one in his sermon:
“A farmer was sowing grain in his fields. 4 As he scattered the seed across the ground, some fell beside a path, and the birds came and ate it. 5 And some fell on rocky soil where there was little depth of earth; the plants sprang up quickly enough in the shallow soil, 6 but the hot sun soon scorched them and they withered and died, for they had so little root. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns choked out the tender blades. 8 But some fell on good soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as he had planted. 9 If you have ears, listen!”
10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you always use these hard-to-understand illustrations?”[a]
11 Then he explained to them that only they were permitted to understand about the Kingdom of Heaven, and others were not.
12-13 “For to him who has will more be given,” he told them, “and he will have great plenty; but from him who has not, even the little he has will be taken away. That is why I use these illustrations, so people will hear and see but not understand.[b]
14 “This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah:
‘They hear, but don’t understand; they look, but don’t see! 15 For their hearts are fat and heavy, and their ears are dull, and they have closed their eyes in sleep, 16 so they won’t see and hear and understand and turn to God again, and let me heal them.’
But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. 17 Many a prophet and godly man has longed to see what you have seen and hear what you have heard, but couldn’t.
18 “Now here is the explanation of the story I told about the farmer planting grain: 19 The hard path where some of the seeds fell represents the heart of a person who hears the Good News about the Kingdom and doesn’t understand it; then Satan[c] comes and snatches away the seeds from his heart. 20 The shallow, rocky soil represents the heart of a man who hears the message and receives it with real joy, 21 but he doesn’t have much depth in his life, and the seeds don’t root very deeply, and after a while when trouble comes, or persecution begins because of his beliefs, his enthusiasm fades, and he drops out. 22 The ground covered with thistles represents a man who hears the message, but the cares of this life and his longing for money choke out God’s Word, and he does less and less for God. 23 The good ground represents the heart of a man who listens to the message and understands it and goes out and brings thirty, sixty, or even a hundred others into the Kingdom.”[d]
24 Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer sowing good seed in his field; 25 but one night as he slept, his enemy came and sowed thistles among the wheat. 26 When the crop began to grow, the thistles grew too.
27 “The farmer’s men came and told him, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that choice seed is full of thistles!’
28 “‘An enemy has done it,’ he exclaimed.
“‘Shall we pull out the thistles?’ they asked.
29 “‘No,’ he replied. ‘You’ll hurt the wheat if you do. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and I will tell the reapers to sort out the thistles and burn them, and put the wheat in the barn.’”
31-32 Here is another of his illustrations: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a tiny mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds but becomes the largest of plants, and grows into a tree where birds can come and find shelter.”
33 He also used this example:
“The Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a woman making bread. She takes a measure of flour and mixes in the yeast until it permeates every part of the dough.”
34-35 Jesus constantly used these illustrations when speaking to the crowds. In fact, because the prophets said that he would use so many, he never spoke to them without at least one illustration. For it had been prophesied, “I will talk in parables; I will explain mysteries hidden since the beginning of time.”[e] 36 Then, leaving the crowds outside, he went into the house. His disciples asked him to explain to them the illustration of the thistles and the wheat.
37 “All right,” he said, “I am[f] the farmer who sows the choice seed. 38 The field is the world, and the seed represents the people of the Kingdom; the thistles are the people belonging to Satan. 39 The enemy who sowed the thistles among the wheat is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels.
40 “Just as in this story the thistles are separated and burned, so shall it be at the end of the world: 41 I[g] will send my angels, and they will separate out of the Kingdom every temptation and all who are evil, 42 and throw them into the furnace and burn them. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the godly shall shine as the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Let those with ears, listen!
44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure a man discovered in a field. In his excitement, he sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field—and get the treasure, too!
45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 He discovered a real bargain—a pearl of great value—and sold everything he owned to purchase it!
47-48 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by a fisherman—he casts a net into the water and gathers in fish of every kind, valuable and worthless. When the net is full, he drags it up onto the beach and sits down and sorts out the edible ones into crates and throws the others away. 49 That is the way it will be at the end of the world—the angels will come and separate the wicked people from the godly, 50 casting the wicked into the fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 Do you understand?”
“Yes,” they said, “we do.”
52 Then he added, “Those experts in Jewish law who are now my disciples have double treasures—from the Old Testament as well as from the New!”[h]
53-54 When Jesus had finished giving these illustrations, he returned to his hometown, Nazareth in Galilee,[i] and taught there in the synagogue and astonished everyone with his wisdom and his miracles.
55 “How is this possible?” the people exclaimed. “He’s just a carpenter’s son, and we know Mary his mother and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. 56 And his sisters—they all live here. How can he be so great?” 57 And they became angry with him!
Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own country, and among his own people!” 58 And so he did only a few great miracles there, because of their unbelief.
Footnotes
- Matthew 13:10 Why do you always use these hard-to-understand illustrations? is implied.
- Matthew 13:12 so people will hear and see but not understand. Those who were receptive to spiritual truth understood the illustrations. To others they were only stories without meaning.
- Matthew 13:19 Satan, literally, “the evil.”
- Matthew 13:23 brings thirty, sixty, or even a hundred others into the Kingdom, literally, “produces a crop many times greater than the amount planted—thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much.”
- Matthew 13:34 beginning of time, see Psalm 78:2.
- Matthew 13:37 I am, literally, “the Son of Man is.”
- Matthew 13:41 I, literally, “The Son of Man.”
- Matthew 13:52 from the Old Testament as well as from the New, literally, “brings back out of his treasure things both new and old.” The paraphrase is of course highly anachronistic!
- Matthew 13:53 Nazareth in Galilee, implied.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.