Matthew 13

¹On that day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. ²And such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood on the shore. ³And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Look! A sower went out to sow. ⁴And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up immediately because they had no depth of soil. ⁶But when the sun rose they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered. ⁷Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸But other seeds fell on the good soil and kept yielding fruit—some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹The one who has ears, let him hear."

¹⁰And the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" ¹¹He answered them, "Because to you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it has not been given. ¹²For whoever has, more will be given to him and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ¹³This is why I speak to them in parables: because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled that says: 'You will hear and hear but never understand, and you will look and look but never perceive. ¹⁵For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they hear with difficulty, and they have shut their eyes— lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn back, and I would heal them.'

¹⁶But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous ones longed to see what you see and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it.

¹⁸"So you, hear the parable of the sower. ¹⁹When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. ²⁰What was sown on rocky ground—this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, ²¹but has no root in himself and lasts only a short time. When affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. ²²What was sown among thorns—this is the one who hears the word, but the anxiety of this age and the seduction of wealth choke the word, and it becomes fruitless. ²³But what was sown on the good soil—this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: one a hundredfold, another sixty, another thirty."

²⁴He set another parable before them, saying: "The kingdom of the heavens may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel among the wheat and went away. ²⁶When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the darnel also appeared. ²⁷The servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where then did the darnel come from?' ²⁸He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather it?' ²⁹But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the darnel you uproot the wheat along with it. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers: First gather the darnel and bind it in bundles to burn it, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

³¹He set another parable before them, saying: "The kingdom of the heavens is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³²It is the smallest 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 sky come and nest in its branches."

³³He told them another parable: "The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until the whole batch was leavened."

³⁴All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and without a parable he said nothing to them, ³⁵so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: "I will open my mouth in parables; I will pour forth things hidden since the foundation."

³⁶Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the darnel of the field." ³⁷He answered: "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸The field is the world. The good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom. The darnel are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the completion of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the darnel is gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the completion of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of stumbling and those who practice lawlessness, ⁴²and they will throw them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears, let him hear.

⁴⁴"The kingdom of the heavens is like treasure hidden in a field that a man found and hid again. And in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵"Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant seeking fine pearls. ⁴⁶Finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.

⁴⁷"Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a dragnet cast into the sea that gathered fish of every kind. ⁴⁸When it was full, they hauled it up onto the shore, and sitting down they sorted the good into containers but threw out the worthless. ⁴⁹So it will be at the completion of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

⁵¹"Have you understood all these things?" They said to him, "Yes." ⁵²And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of the heavens is like a master of a household who brings out of his storeroom things new and old."

⁵³And when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there. ⁵⁴Coming to his hometown, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these powers? ⁵⁵Is this not the craftsman's son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶And are not all his sisters here with us? Where then did he get all these things?" ⁵⁷And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own house." ⁵⁸And he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.