Matthew 13

1. Now in that same day, Jesus departed from the house and sat down by the sea.

2. And so great a multitude gathered around Him that He went into a ship and sat down, and all the multitude stood on the shore.

3. And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow.

4. And as he was sowing, some of the seed fell by the way; and the birds came and devoured them.

5. And some fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up because the soil was not deep enough;

6. But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they did not have roots, they dried up.

7. And some of the seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.

8. And some fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit—some a hundredfold, and some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold.

9. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

10. And His disciples came to Him and asked, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11. And He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

12. For whoever has understanding, to him more shall be given, and he shall have an abundance; but whoever does not have understanding, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

13. For this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing, they see not; and hearing, they hear not; neither do they understand.

14. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says, ‘In hearing you shall hear, and in no way understand; and in seeing you shall see, and in no way perceive;

15. For the heart of this people has grown fat, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and should hear with their ears, and should understand with their hearts, and should be converted, and I should heal them.’

16. But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

17. For truly I say to you, many prophets and righteous men have desired to see what you see, and have not seen; and to hear what you hear, and have not heard.

18. Therefore, hear the parable of the sower:

19. When anyone hears the Word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the wicked one comes and snatches away that which was sown in his heart. This is the one who was sown by the way.

20. Now the one who was sown upon the rocky places is the one who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy;

21. But because he has no root in himself, he does not endure; for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, he is quickly offended.

22. And the one who was sown among the thorns is the one who hears the Word, but the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful.

23. But the one who was sown on good ground, this is the one who hears the Word and understands, who indeed brings forth fruit and produces—one a hundredfold, another sixtyfold and another thirtyfold.”

24. And He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is compared to a man who was sowing good seed in his field;

25. But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.

26. Now when the blades sprouted and produced fruit, then the tares also appeared.

27. And the servants came to the master of the house and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then where did these tares come from?’

28. And he said to them, ‘A man who is an enemy has done this.’ Then the servants said to him, ‘Do you want us to go out and gather them?’

29. But he said, ‘No, lest while you are gathering the tares, you also uproot the wheat with them.

30. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers, “Gather the tares first, and bind them into bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my granary.”

31. Another parable He presented to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is compared to a tiny mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field;

32. Which indeed is very small among all the seeds; but after it is grown, it is greater than all the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and roost in its branches.”

33. Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is compared to leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until all was leavened.”

34. Jesus spoke all these things to the multitudes in parables, and without a parable He did not speak to them;

35. So that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.”

36. And after dismissing the multitude, Jesus went into the house. Then His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

37. And He answered and said to 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; but the tares are the children of the wicked one.

39. Now the enemy who sowed them is the devil; and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

40. Therefore, as the tares are gathered and consumed in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this age.

41. The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all the offenders and those who are practicing lawlessness;

42. And they shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

43. Then shall the righteous shine forth 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 compared to treasure hidden in a field; which when a man finds, he conceals, and for the joy of finding it, goes and sells everything that he has, and buys that field.

45. Again, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a merchant seeking beautiful pearls;

46. Who, after finding one very precious pearl, went and sold everything that he had, and bought it.

47. Again, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a dragnet cast into the sea, gathering in every kind of fish;

48. Which after it was filled was drawn up on shore; and they sat down and collected the good into vessels, and the unfit they threw away.

49. This is the way it will be in the end of the age: the angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the righteous,

50. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

51. Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

52. “Therefore, every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

53. And it came to pass that when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there.

54. And after coming into His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were amazed and said, “From where did this Man receive this wisdom and these works of power?

55. Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers James and Joses and Simon and Judas?

56. And His sisters, are they not all with us? From where then did this Man receive all these things?”

57. And they were offended in 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 works of power there because of their unbelief.