w[See ver. 16 above]
aj[See ver. 19 above]
ayCited from Ps. 78:2
bi[See ver. 39 above]
bv[See ver. 44 above]
bw[See ver. 44 above]

Matthew 13

The Parable of the Sower

1That same day Jesus went out of the house aand sat beside the sea. 2And great crowds gathered about him, bso that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3And che told them many things in parables, saying: d“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 immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6but ewhen the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, fthey withered away. 7Other seeds fell among gthorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some ha hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 iHe who has ears,
Some manuscripts add here and in verse 43 to hear
let him hear.”


The Purpose of the Parables

10Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11And he answered them, kTo you it has been given to know lthe secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 mFor to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, neven what he has will be taken away. 13This is why I speak to them in parables, because oseeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, pnor do they understand. 14Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

q“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
15For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears rthey can barely hear,
and stheir eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and tunderstand with their heart
and uturn, and I would heal them.’
16But vblessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 wFor truly, I say to you, xmany prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18 yHear then the parable of the sower: 19When anyone hears the word of zthe kingdom and aadoes not understand it, abthe evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately acreceives it with joy, 21yet he has no root in himself, but adendures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately aehe falls away.
Or stumbles
22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but agthe cares of ahthe world and aithe deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and ajunderstands it. He indeed akbears fruit and yields, in one case ala hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

24He put another parable before them, saying, am“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds
Probably darnel, a wheat-like weed
among the wheat and went away.
26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27And the servants
Greek bondservants; also verse 28
of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’
28He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29But he said, apNo, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, " aqGather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn."’”

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

31He put another parable before them, saying, ar“The kingdom of heaven is like asa grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

33He told them another parable. at“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in authree measures of flour, till it was avall leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

34 awAll these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:
Some manuscripts Isaiah the prophet


ay“I will open my mouth in parables;
azI will utter what has been hidden basince the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36Then he left the crowds and went into bbthe house. And his disciples came to him, saying, bcExplain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, and the good seed is bdthe sons of the kingdom. The weeds are bethe sons of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. bfThe harvest is bgthe end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40Just as the weeds bhare gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at bithe end of the age. 41 bjThe Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all bkcauses of sin and blall law-breakers, 42 bmand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place bnthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then bothe righteous will shine like the sun bpin the kingdom of their Father. bqHe who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44The kingdom of heaven bris like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy bshe goes and sells all that he has and btbuys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

45Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46who, on finding buone pearl of great value, bvwent and sold all that he had and bwbought it.

The Parable of the Net

47Again, the kingdom of heaven is bxlike a net that was thrown into the sea and bygathered fish of every kind. 48When it was full, bzmen drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49So it will be at cathe end of the age. The angels will come out and cbseparate the evil from the righteous 50 ccand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place cdthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

51 ce“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52And he said to them, Therefore every cfscribe cgwho has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who chbrings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

53And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 ciand coming to cjhis hometown ckhe taught them in their synagogue, so that clthey were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 cmIs not this cnthe carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not cohis brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57And cpthey took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, cq“A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58And he did not do many mighty works there, crbecause of their unbelief.

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