Mat 13, Mat 17 | ESV | STEP | That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea .

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house ^aand sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, ^bso that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And ^che told them many things in parables, saying: ^d“A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but ^ewhen the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, ^fthey withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among ^gthorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other 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

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, ^k“To 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. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because ^oseeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, ^pnor do they understand. 14 Indeed, 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.”
15 For 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.’
16 But ^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 ^y“Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When 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. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately ^acreceives it with joy, 21 yet 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} 22 As 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. 23 As 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

24 He put another parable before them, saying, ^am“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds ^{▼▼Probably darnel, a wheat-like weed} among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And 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?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ^ap‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let 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

31 He 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. 32 It 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.”

33 He 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. 35 This 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

36 Then he left the crowds and went into ^bbthe house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ^bc“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is ^bdthe sons of the kingdom. The weeds are ^bethe sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. ^bfThe harvest is ^bgthe end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just 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. 43 Then ^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

44 “The 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

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

The Parable of the Net

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is ^bxlike a net that was thrown into the sea and ^bygathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, ^bzmen drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So 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.” 52 And 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

53 And 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? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And ^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.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, ^crbecause of their unbelief.

Matthew 17

The Transfiguration

1 ^csAnd after six days Jesus took with him ^ctPeter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was ^cutransfigured before them, and ^cvhis face shone like the sun, and ^cwhis clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for ^cxElijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, ^cya bright cloud overshadowed them, and ^cza voice from the cloud said, ^da“This is my beloved Son, ^{▼▼Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved} with whom I am well pleased; ^dclisten to him.” 6 When ^ddthe disciples heard this, ^dethey fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and ^dftouched them, saying, “Rise, and ^dghave no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

9 ^dhAnd as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, ^di“Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say ^djthat first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and ^dkhe will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but ^dldid to him whatever they pleased. ^dmSo also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 ^dnThen the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

14 ^doAnd when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he ^dphas seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and ^dqthey could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and ^drtwisted generation, how long am I to be with you? ^dsHow long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus ^dtrebuked the demon, ^{▼▼Greek it} and it ^{▼▼Greek the demon} came out of him, and ^dwthe boy was healed instantly. ^{▼▼Greek from that hour} 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, ^dy“Because of your little faith. For ^dztruly, I say to you, ^eaif you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, ^ebyou will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and ^ecnothing will be impossible for you.” ^{▼▼Some manuscripts insert verse 21: But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting}

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

22 ^eeAs they were gathering ^{▼▼Some manuscripts remained} in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on ^egthe third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax

24 ^ehWhen they came to Capernaum, the collectors of ^eithe two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ^ej“What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or ^ektax? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. ^{▼▼Greek stater, a silver coin worth four drachmas or approximately one shekel} Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”