< Matthew 13 >
1 On that day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the seaside.
2 And large crowds gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat, and sat, and all the crowd stood on the beach.
3 And he spoke to them many things in parables, saying, "Look, a farmer went out to sow.
4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them.
5 And others fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.
6 But when the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away.
7 Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
8 Still others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.
9 He who has ears, let him hear."
10 Then the disciples came, and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"
11 And answering, he said to them, "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but it is not given to them.
12 For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever does not have, from him will be taken away even that which he has.
13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing, they do not hear, neither do they understand.
14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, 'In hearing you will hear, but will not understand, and seeing you will see, but not perceive.
15 For the heart of this people has grown dull, and their ears are sluggish in hearing, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn back, and I would heal them.'
16 "But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.
17 For truly I tell you that many prophets and righteous people desired to see the things which you see, and did not see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.
18 "Hear, then, the parable of the farmer.
19 When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside.
20 And what was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it;
21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
22 And what was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. (aiōn )
23 And what was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, who truly bears fruit, and brings forth, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty."
24 He set another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field,
25 but while everyone slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away.
26 But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then the tares appeared also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where did these tares come from?'
28 "And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' "And the servants asked him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them up?'
29 "But he said, 'No, lest perhaps while you gather up the tares, you root up the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, "First, gather up the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
31 He set another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field;
32 which indeed is least of all the seeds. But when it has grown it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."
33 He spoke another parable to them. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened."
34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; and without a parable, he did not speak to them,
35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the beginning of the world."
36 Then Jesus sent the crowds away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares in the field."
37 And he answered them, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
38 and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the tares are the children of the evil one,
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. (aiōn )
40 As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of the age. (aiōn )
41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity,
42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the grinding of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls,
46 and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some fish of every kind,
48 which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach. They sat down, and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away.
49 So will it be in the end of the world. The angels will come forth, and separate the wicked from among the righteous, (aiōn )
50 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the grinding of teeth."
51 "Have you understood all these things?" They answered him, "Yes."
52 And he said to them, "Therefore, every scribe who has been made a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things."
53 And it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there.
54 And coming into 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 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
56 And are not all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?"
57 And they were offended by him. But 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 mighty works there because of their unbelief.
