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13 On that day, having gone out of the bais, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach sat beside the lake.

And many multitudes gathered together to him so that he got into a sirah (boat) to sit down, and the entire multitude stood along the shore.

And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach told them many things in meshalim (parables), saying Hinei! The Sower went out to sow [seeds].

And while he sowed, on the one hand, this [seed] fell along the road, and the birds having come, devoured them.

And others fell upon the rocky places, where there is not much soil, and immediately it sprouts on account of the lack of the soil’s depth.

And when the shemesh (sun) arose, the zera (seed) was scorched, and because it did not have a root, it withered.

And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.

But others fell on the adamah tovah (good ground), and they yielded fruit: the one, one hundred, the other, sixty, the other, thirty.

The one having oznayim (spiritual ears), let him hear!

10 And, approaching, the talmidim said to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, Why in meshalim (parables) are you speaking to them?

11 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach answered them, Because to you it has been granted to have daas of the razim (mysteries) of the Malchut HaShomayim, but to those it has not been granted.

12 For whoever has, [more] will be given to him, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him (see Mt 25:14-29).

13 For this reason in meshalim I am speaking to them, for while seeing they do not see, and [while] hearing they do not hear, nor do they have binah (understanding).

14 And in them is fulfilled the nevuah (prophecy) of Yeshayah HaNavi, saying, SHIMU SHAMOA VAL TAVINU UREU RAO VAL TEIDAU (In hearing you will hear and by no means understand, and seeing you will see and by no means perceive).

15 HASHMEIN LEV HAAM HAZEH VAZNAV HACHBEID VEINAV HASHA, PEN YIREH VEINAV UVEAZNAV YISHMAH ULEVAVO YAVIN, VSHAV NRAFAH LOH. (For the heart of this people has been made dull, and with [their] ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes are shut, lest they see with the their eyes and with [their] ears they hear, and with the lev (heart) they understand and they turn and I will give them refuah [healing] YESHAYAH 6:9-10).

16 But ashrey are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

17 For truly I say to you that many Neviim and tzaddikim desired to see what you see, and they did not see [it], and to hear what you hear, and they did not hear it.

18 You, therefore, listen to the mashal of the sower.

19 When anyone hears the Dvar HaMalchut and does not have binah, HaRah (the Evil one) comes and seizes that which was sown in his lev (heart). This is the zera (seed) sown along the path.

20 And the zera sown upon the rocky places is the person listening to the Dvar Hashem and immediately with simcha receives it.

21 Yet he has no root in himself but is short-lived, and when ES TZARAH comes or persecution on account of the Dvar Hashem, immediately he ceases being a maamin Meshichi (Messianic believer) and becomes meshummad (apostate), falling away and giving up the [true Orthodox Jewish] faith. [YIRMEYAH 30:7]

22 And the [zera] sown among the thorns is the one hearing the dvar (word), and the rogez HaOlam Hazeh (the anxiety of this age, DEVARIM 28:65) and the mirmah (deceit) of riches, choke the Dvar Hashem and it becomes unfruitful. [YESHAYAH 53:9]

23 And the zera sown upon the adamah tovah (the good ground), this is the one who hears the Dvar Hashem and, understanding [it], indeed bears pri and, one produces a hundred, the other sixty, the other thirty.

24 Another mashal Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach placed before them, saying, The Malchut HaShomayim is like a man sowing zera tov (good seed) in his field.

25 But while men slept, his oyev (enemy) came and oversowed weeds in between the wheat and went away.

26 But when the wheat sprouted and produced pri, then the weeds also appeared.

27 So the servants of the Baal Bayit said to him, Adoneinu, did you not sow zera tov (good seed) in your field? How then does it have weeds?

28 And he said to them, An oyev did this. So the servants say to him, Do you want us to go and pull them all?

29 But he says, No, lest gathering the weeds you should uproot the wheat together with them.

30 Permit both to grow together until the Katzir (harvest); and in time of the Katzir, I will say to the kotzerim, Collect first the weeds, and bind them into bundles to burn them. But the wheat gather into my storehouse.

31 Another mashal Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach placed before them, saying, The Malchut HaShomayim is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.

32 This that is indeed less than all the zeraim (seeds), but when it grows, it is larger than the garden vegetables and it becomes an etz (tree), so that the OPH HASHOMAYIM IYOV 35:11) come and dwell in its branches.

33 Another mashal Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach spoke to them. The Malchut HaShomayim is like seor (leaven), which having taken, a woman hid in three satas of wheat flour until the whole was leavened.

34 All these things Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach spoke in meshalim to the multitudes. And apart from meshalim Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach did not speak to them:

35 So that might be fulfilled what was spoken through the Navi, saying, EFTCHA VMASHAL PI AVIAH CHIDOT (I will open my mouth with parables, I will utter things having been hidden) from the foundation of the world. [TEHILLIM 78:2]

36 Then having sent away the multitudes, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach came into the bais (house). And Moshiach’s talmidim approached him, saying, Explain to us the mashal of the weeds of the field.

37 And answering, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said, The Sower of the zera tov is the Ben HaAdam (Moshiach).

38 The field is HaOlam Hazeh. And the zera tov, the good seed, these are the Bnei HaMalchut, and the weeds, these are the bnei HaRah (sons of the Evil one, BERESHIS 3:15).

39 And the Oyev (the Enemy) sowing them is Hasatan. And the Katzir (Harvest), this is HaKetz HaOlam (the end of the age). And the kotzerim (reapers, harvesters) are malachim (angels).

40 As the weeds are pulled up and gathered and are consumed with Eish (Fire), so also it will be at the Ketz HaOlam.

41 The Ben HaAdam [Moshiach] will send forth his malachim, and they will pull up and gather out of the Moshiach’s Malchut all the things making meshummad (apostate) and the ones who are without Torah and antinomian.

42 And Moshiach’s malachim will throw them into the furnace of Eish; there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

43 Then the tzaddikim will shine as the shemesh (sun) in the Malchut of their Father. The one having oznayim (spiritual ears), let him hear.

44 The Malchut HaShomayim is like otzar (treasure) hidden in the field, which, having found, a man hid. And from the simcha he experienced, he goes away and sells everything he has and buys that field.

45 Again, the Malchut HaShomayim is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.

46 And having found one precious peninah (pearl), he went away and liquidated everything he had and acquired it.

47 Again, the Malchut HaShomayim is like a reshet (net) having been cast into the lake, a reshet collecting and gathering dagim (fish) of all descriptions,

48 which, when this reshet (net) was filled, they hoisted it upon the shore, sat down, collected the tov (good) into a creel, and the rah (evil), they threw out.

49 Thus it will be at HaKetz HaOlam Hazeh (The End of This World). The malachim will go out and they will separate the reshaim from among the tzaddikim.

50 And they will throw the reshaim into the furnace of Eish. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 Did you have binah of all these things? They say to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, Ken.

52 So Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to them, Therefore, every sofer (scribe, Torah teacher, rabbi) who becomes a talmid of the Malchut HaShomayim is like a man [who is] a Baal Bayit, who takes out of his otzar (treasure), chadashot (new things) and also yeshanot (old things).

53 And it came about when Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach finished these meshalim, that he went away from there.

54 And having come into Moshiach’s shtetl, he began ministering as a moreh (teacher) in their shul, so that they were amazed and said, From where did this chochmah come to this one, this chochmah and these moftim (miracles, wonders, omens)?

55 Is this not the ben hanaggar (the carpenter’s son)? Is not his Em called Miryam? And are not his achim Yaakov*, Yosef, Shimon and Yehuda**?

56 And are not his achayot (sisters) with us? From where, therefore, came to this one all these things?

57 And they were taking offense at Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach. But Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to them, A Navi (prophet) is not without honor except in his hometown and in his bais.

58 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach did not accomplish in that place many moftim, because of their lack of emunah (faith) and bitachon (trust).

The Parable of the Sower(A)

13 That same day Jesus left the house and went to the lakeside, where he sat down to teach. (B)The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it, while the crowd stood on the shore. He used parables to tell them many things.

“Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. But when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants. But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants bore grain: some had one hundred grains, others sixty, and others thirty.”

And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”

The Purpose of the Parables(C)

10 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”

11 Jesus answered, “The knowledge about the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 (D)For the person who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but the person who has nothing will have taken away from him even the little he has. 13 The reason I use parables in talking to them is that they look, but do not see, and they listen, but do not hear or understand. 14 (E)So the prophecy of Isaiah applies to them:

‘This people will listen and listen, but not understand;
    they will look and look, but not see,
15 because their minds are dull,
    and they have stopped up their ears
    and have closed their eyes.
Otherwise, their eyes would see,
    their ears would hear,
    their minds would understand,
and they would turn to me, says God,
    and I would heal them.’

16 (F)“As for you, how fortunate you are! Your eyes see and your ears hear. 17 I assure you that many prophets and many of God's people wanted very much to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower(G)

18 “Listen, then, and learn what the parable of the sower means. 19 Those who hear the message about the Kingdom but do not understand it are like the seeds that fell along the path. The Evil One comes and snatches away what was sown in them. 20 The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who receive the message gladly as soon as they hear it. 21 But it does not sink deep into them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once. 22 The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear the message; but the worries about this life and the love for riches choke the message, and they don't bear fruit. 23 And the seeds sown in the good soil stand for those who hear the message and understand it: they bear fruit, some as much as one hundred, others sixty, and others thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

24 Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field. 25 One night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 When the plants grew and the heads of grain began to form, then the weeds showed up. 27 The man's servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, it was good seed you sowed in your field; where did the weeds come from?’ 28 ‘It was some enemy who did this,’ he answered. ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ they asked him. 29 ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because as you gather the weeds you might pull up some of the wheat along with them. 30 Let the wheat and the weeds both grow together until harvest. Then I will tell the harvest workers to pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them, and then to gather in the wheat and put it in my barn.’”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed(H)

31 Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man takes a mustard seed and sows it in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up, it is the biggest of all plants. It becomes a tree, so that birds come and make their nests in its branches.”

The Parable of the Yeast(I)

33 Jesus told them still another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A woman takes some yeast and mixes it with a bushel of flour until the whole batch of dough rises.”

Jesus' Use of Parables(J)

34 Jesus used parables to tell all these things to the crowds; he would not say a thing to them without using a parable. 35 (K)He did this to make come true what the prophet had said,

“I will use parables when I speak to them;
    I will tell them things unknown since the creation of the world.”

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds

36 When Jesus had left the crowd and gone indoors, his disciples came to him and said, “Tell us what the parable about the weeds in the field means.”

37 Jesus answered, “The man who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world; the good seed is the people who belong to the Kingdom; the weeds are the people who belong to the Evil One; 39 and the enemy who sowed the weeds is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvest workers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered up and burned in the fire, so the same thing will happen at the end of the age: 41 the Son of Man will send out his angels to gather up out of his Kingdom all those who cause people to sin and all others who do evil things, 42 and they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will cry and gnash their teeth. 43 [a]Then God's people will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Listen, then, if you have ears!

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man happens to find a treasure hidden in a field. He covers it up again, and is so happy that he goes and sells everything he has, and then goes back and buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl

45 “Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man is looking for fine pearls, 46 and when he finds one that is unusually fine, he goes and sells everything he has, and buys that pearl.

The Parable of the Net

47 “Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. Some fishermen throw their net out in the lake and catch all kinds of fish. 48 When the net is full, they pull it to shore and sit down to divide the fish: the good ones go into the buckets, the worthless ones are thrown away. 49 It will be like this at the end of the age: the angels will go out and gather up the evil people from among the good 50 and will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will cry and gnash their teeth.

New Truths and Old

51 “Do you understand these things?” Jesus asked them.

“Yes,” they answered.

52 So he replied, “This means, then, that every teacher of the Law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who takes new and old things out of his storage room.”

Jesus Is Rejected at Nazareth(L)

53 When Jesus finished telling these parables, he left that place 54 and went back to his hometown. He taught in the synagogue, and those who heard him were amazed. “Where did he get such wisdom?” they asked. “And what about his miracles? 55 Isn't he the carpenter's son? Isn't Mary his mother, and aren't James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? 56 Aren't all his sisters living here? Where did he get all this?” 57 (M)And so they rejected him.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is respected everywhere except in his hometown and by his own family.” 58 Because they did not have faith, he did not perform many miracles there.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 13:43 2Esd 7:97