Matthew 13:24-43

New King James Version

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

²⁴Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. ²⁶But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. ²⁷So 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?’ ²⁸He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰Let 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 ^(A)gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed^(B)

³¹Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ^(C)“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, ³²which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a ^(D)tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven^(E)

³³^(F)Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three ^[a]measures of meal till ^(G)it was all leavened.”

Prophecy and the Parables

³⁴^(H)All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, ³⁵that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

^(I)“I will open My mouth in parables;
^(J)I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Tares Explained

³⁶Then 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.”

³⁷He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸^(K)The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are ^(L)the sons of the wicked one. ³⁹The enemy who sowed them is the devil, ^(M)the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out His angels, ^(N)and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, ⁴²^(O)and will cast them into the furnace of fire. ^(P)There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³^(Q)Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. ^(R)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

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Footnotes

Matthew 13:33 Gr. sata, same as a Heb. seah; approximately 2 pecks in all

Acts 19:1-22

New King James Version

Paul at Ephesus

19 And it happened, while ^(A)Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through ^(B)the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples ²he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

So they said to him, ^(C)“We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

³And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”

So they said, ^(D)“Into John’s baptism.”

⁴Then Paul said, ^(E)“John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

⁵When they heard this, they were baptized ^(F)in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶And when Paul had ^(G)laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and ^(H)they spoke with tongues and prophesied. ⁷Now the men were about twelve in all.

⁸^(I)And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading ^(J)concerning the things of the kingdom of God. ⁹But ^(K)when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil ^(L)of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. ¹⁰And ^(M)this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

Miracles Glorify Christ

¹¹Now ^(N)God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, ¹²^(O)so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. ¹³^(P)Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists ^(Q)took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ^[a]“We ^[b]exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul ^(R)preaches.” ¹⁴Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.

¹⁵And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

¹⁶Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, ^[c]overpowered them, and prevailed against ^[d]them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ¹⁷This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and ^(S)fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. ¹⁸And many who had believed came ^(T)confessing and telling their deeds. ¹⁹Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. ²⁰^(U)So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

The Riot at Ephesus

²¹^(V)When these things were accomplished, Paul ^(W)purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through ^(X)Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, ^(Y)I must also see Rome.” ²²So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, ^(Z)Timothy and ^(AA)Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.

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Footnotes

Acts 19:13 NU I
Acts 19:13 adjure, solemnly command
Acts 19:16 M and they overpowered them
Acts 19:16 NU both of them

Psalm 31

New King James Version

The Lord a Fortress in Adversity

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

31 In ^(A)You, O Lord, I ^[a]put my trust;
Let me never be ashamed;
Deliver me in Your righteousness.
²^(B)Bow down Your ear to me,
Deliver me speedily;
Be my rock of ^[b]refuge,
A ^[c]fortress of defense to save me.

³^(C)For You are my rock and my fortress;
Therefore, ^(D)for Your name’s sake,
Lead me and guide me.
⁴Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
⁵^(E)Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O Lord God of ^(F)truth.

⁶I have hated those ^(G)who regard useless idols;
But I trust in the Lord.
⁷I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,
For You have considered my trouble;
You have ^(H)known my soul in ^[d]adversities,
⁸And have not ^(I)shut^[e] me up into the hand of the enemy;
^(J)You have set my feet in a wide place.

⁹Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;
^(K)My eye wastes away with grief,
Yes, my soul and my ^[f]body!
¹⁰For my life is spent with grief,
And my years with sighing;
My strength fails because of my iniquity,
And my bones waste away.
¹¹^(L)I am a ^[g]reproach among all my enemies,
But ^(M)especially among my neighbors,
And am repulsive to my acquaintances;
^(N)Those who see me outside flee from me.
¹²^(O)I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a ^[h]broken vessel.
¹³^(P)For I hear the slander of many;
^(Q)Fear is on every side;
While they ^(R)take counsel together against me,
They scheme to take away my life.

¹⁴But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
¹⁵My times are in Your ^(S)hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.
¹⁶^(T)Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me for Your mercies’ sake.
¹⁷^(U)Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You;
Let the wicked be ashamed;
^(V)Let them be silent in the grave.
¹⁸^(W)Let the lying lips be put to silence,
Which ^(X)speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

¹⁹^(Y)Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
²⁰^(Z)You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
^(AA)You shall keep them secretly in a ^[i]pavilion
From the strife of tongues.

²¹Blessed be the Lord,
For ^(AB)He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a ^[j]strong city!
²²For I said in my haste,
“I am cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried out to You.

²³Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!
For the Lord preserves the faithful,
And fully repays the proud person.
²⁴^(AC)Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the Lord.

Footnotes

Psalm 31:1 have taken refuge
Psalm 31:2 strength
Psalm 31:2 Lit. house of fortresses
Psalm 31:7 troubles
Psalm 31:8 given me over
Psalm 31:9 Lit. belly
Psalm 31:11 despised thing
Psalm 31:12 Lit. perishing
Psalm 31:20 shelter
Psalm 31:21 fortified

Exodus 21-23

New King James Version

The Law Concerning Servants^(A)

21 “Now these are the ^[a]judgments which you shall ^(B)set before them: ²^(C)If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. ³If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. ⁴If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. ⁵^(D)But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ ⁶then his master shall bring him to the ^(E)judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.

⁷“And if a man ^(F)sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. ⁸If she ^[b]does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her. ⁹And if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. ¹⁰If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, ^(G)and her marriage rights. ¹¹And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money.

The Law Concerning Violence

¹²^(H)“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. ¹³However, ^(I)if he did not lie in wait, but God ^(J)delivered him into his hand, then ^(K)I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.

¹⁴“But if a man acts with ^(L)premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, ^(M)you shall take him from My altar, that he may die.

¹⁵“And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

¹⁶^(N)“He who kidnaps a man and ^(O)sells him, or if he is ^(P)found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.

¹⁷“And ^(Q)he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

¹⁸“If men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed, ¹⁹if he rises again and walks about outside ^(R)with his staff, then he who struck him shall be ^[c]acquitted. He shall only pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed.

²⁰“And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. ²¹Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his ^(S)property.

²²“If men ^[d]fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that ^[e]she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall ^(T)pay as the judges determine. ²³But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, ²⁴^(U)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

²⁶“If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. ²⁷And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth.

Animal Control Laws

²⁸“If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then ^(V)the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be ^[f]acquitted. ²⁹But if the ox ^[g]tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. ³⁰If there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay ^(W)to redeem his life, whatever is imposed on him. ³¹Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him. ³²If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master ^(X)thirty shekels of silver, and the ^(Y)ox shall be stoned.

³³“And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it, ³⁴the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his.

³⁵“If one man’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money from it; and the dead ox they shall also divide. ³⁶Or if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in time past, and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall be his own.

Responsibility for Property

22 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall ^(Z)restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. ²If the thief is found ^(AA)breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be ^(AB)no guilt for his bloodshed. ³If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed. He should make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be ^(AC)sold^[h] for his theft. ⁴If the theft is certainly ^(AD)found alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall ^(AE)restore double.

⁵“If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed, and lets loose his animal, and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.

⁶“If fire breaks out and catches in thorns, so that stacked grain, standing grain, or the field is consumed, he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

⁷“If a man ^(AF)delivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, ^(AG)if the thief is found, he shall pay double. ⁸If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the ^(AH)judges to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor’s goods.

⁹“For any kind of trespass, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep, or clothing, or for any kind of lost thing which another claims to be his, the ^(AI)cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whomever the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor. ¹⁰If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is hurt, or driven away, no one seeing it, ¹¹then an ^(AJ)oath of the Lord shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good. ¹²But ^(AK)if, in fact, it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it. ¹³If it is ^(AL)torn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evidence, and he shall not make good what was torn.

¹⁴“And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it becomes injured or dies, the owner of it not being with it, he shall surely make it good. ¹⁵If its owner was with it, he shall not make it good; if it was hired, it came for its hire.

Moral and Ceremonial Principles

¹⁶^(AM)“If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. ¹⁷If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the ^(AN)bride-price of virgins.

¹⁸^(AO)“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

¹⁹^(AP)“Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

²⁰^(AQ)“He who sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

²¹^(AR)“You shall neither mistreat a ^[i]stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

²²^(AS)“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. ²³If you afflict them in any way, and they ^(AT)cry at all to Me, I will surely ^(AU)hear their cry; ²⁴and My ^(AV)wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; ^(AW)your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

²⁵^(AX)“If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him ^(AY)interest. ²⁶^(AZ)If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. ²⁷For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am ^(BA)gracious.

²⁸^(BB)“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ^(BC)ruler of your people.

²⁹“You shall not delay to offer ^(BD)the first of your ripe produce and your juices. ^(BE)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. ³⁰^(BF)Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother ^(BG)seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

³¹“And you shall be ^(BH)holy men to Me: ^(BI)you shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Justice for All

23 “You ^(BJ)shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an ^(BK)unrighteous witness. ²^(BL)You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; ^(BM)nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. ³You shall not show partiality to a ^(BN)poor man in his dispute.

⁴^(BO)“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. ⁵^(BP)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.

⁶^(BQ)“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. ⁷^(BR)Keep yourself far from a false matter; ^(BS)do not kill the innocent and righteous. For ^(BT)I will not justify the wicked. ⁸And ^(BU)you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

⁹“Also ^(BV)you shall not oppress a ^[j]stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Law of Sabbaths

¹⁰^(BW)“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, ¹¹but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your ^[k]olive grove. ¹²^(BX)Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.

¹³“And in all that I have said to you, ^(BY)be circumspect and ^(BZ)make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.

Three Annual Feasts^(CA)

¹⁴^(CB)“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: ¹⁵^(CC)You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; ^(CD)none shall appear before Me empty); ¹⁶^(CE)and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and ^(CF)the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.

¹⁷^(CG)“Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord ^[l]God.

¹⁸^(CH)“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened ^(CI)bread; nor shall the fat of My ^[m]sacrifice remain until morning. ¹⁹^(CJ)The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. ^(CK)You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

The Angel and the Promises

²⁰^(CL)“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. ²¹Beware of Him and obey His voice; ^(CM)do not provoke Him, for He will ^(CN)not pardon your transgressions; for ^(CO)My name is in Him. ²²But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then ^(CP)I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. ²³^(CQ)For My Angel will go before you and ^(CR)bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will ^[n]cut them off. ²⁴You shall not ^(CS)bow down to their gods, nor serve them, ^(CT)nor do according to their works; ^(CU)but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.

²⁵“So you shall ^(CV)serve the Lord your God, and ^(CW)He will bless your bread and your water. And ^(CX)I will take sickness away from the midst of you. ²⁶^(CY)No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will ^(CZ)fulfill the number of your days.

²⁷“I will send ^(DA)My fear before you, I will ^(DB)cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. ²⁸And ^(DC)I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. ²⁹^(DD)I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. ³⁰Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. ³¹And ^(DE)I will set your ^[o]bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the ^[p]River. For I will ^(DF)deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. ³²^(DG)You shall make no ^[q]covenant with them, nor with their gods. ³³They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, ^(DH)it will surely be a snare to you.”