Chapter 13

On that day Jesus left the house and was sitting by the water's edge.

And as great crowds gathered about him, he got into a boat and sat down. And all the crowd stood on the shore. The Sower and the Seed

And he spoke to them many things in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow.

And as he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the birds came and ate them up.

And other seeds fell upon rocky ground, where they had not much earth; and they sprang up at once, because they had no depth of earth;

but when the sun rose they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.

And other seeds fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked them.

And other seeds fell upon good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Reason for Parables

And the disciples came up and said to him, "Why dost thou speak to them in parables? "

And he answered and said, "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

For to him who has shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him who does not have, even that which he has shall be taken away.

This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, neither do they understand.

In them is being fulfilled the prophecy of Isaias, who says, 'Hearing you will hear, but not understand; and seeing you will see, but not perceive.

For the heart of this people has been hardened, and with their ears they have been hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest at any time they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their mind, And be converted, and I heal them. '

"But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.

For amen I say to you, many prophets and just men have longed to see what you see, and they have not seen it; and to hear what you hear, and they have not heard it. Explaining the Parable

"Hear, therefore, the parable of the sower.

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, but does not understand it, the wicked one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is he who was sown by the wayside.

And the one sown on rocky ground, that is he who hears the word and receives it immediately with joy;

yet he has no root in himself, but continues only for a time, and when trouble and persecution come because of the word, he at once falls away.

And the one sown among the thorns, that is he who listens to the word; but the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it is made fruitless.

And the one sown upon good ground, that is he who hears the word and understands it; he bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixtyfold, and in another thirtyfold." The Weeds

Another parable he set before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;

but while men were asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.

And when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then the weeds appeared as well.

And the servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? How then does it have weeds? '

He said to them, 'An enemy has done this. ' And the servants said to him, 'Wilt thou have us go and gather them up? '

'No, ' he said, 'lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.

Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will say to the reapers, Gather up the weeds first and bind them in bundles to burn; but gather the wheat into my barn. '" The Mustard Seed

Another parable he set before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.

This indeed is the smallest of all the seeds; but when it grows up it is larger than any herb and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and dwell in its branches."

He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and buried in three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened."

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and without parables he did not speak to them;

that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world." Parable of the Weeds

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

So answering them he said, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

The field is the world; the good seed, the sons of the kingdom; the weeds, the sons of the wicked one;

and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. But the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels.

Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered up and burnt with fire, so will it be at the end of the world.

The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all scandals and those who work iniquity,

and cast them into the furnace of fire, where there will be the weeping, and the gnashing of teeth.

Then the just will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. The Treasure and the Pearl

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field; he who finds it hides it, and in his joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.

When he finds a single pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. Parable of the Net

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea that gathered in fish of every kind.

When it was filled, they hauled it out, and sitting down on the beach, they gathered the good fish into vessels, but threw away the bad.

So will it be at the end of the world. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the just,

and will cast them into the furnace of fire, where there will be the weeping, and the gnashing of teeth. Conclusion

"Have you understood all these things?" They said to him, "Yes."

And he said to them, "So then, every Scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings forth from his storeroom things new and old." Jesus at Nazareth

And it came to pass when Jesus had finished these parables, that he set out from that place.

And when he had come to his own country, he began to teach them in their synagogues, so that they were astonished, and said, "How did this man come by this wisdom and these miracles?

Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James and Joseph and Simon and Jude?

And his sisters, are they not all with us? Then where did he get all this? "

And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, and in his own house."

And because of their unbelief, he did not work many miracles there.