Mat 6, Mat 13 | ESV | STEP | Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them , for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven .

1 “Beware of ^apracticing your righteousness before other people in order ^bto be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 ^c“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may ^dbe praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have ^ereceived their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. ^fAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Lord’s Prayer

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love ^gto stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. ^hTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, ⁱgo into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. ^jAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as ^kthe Gentiles do, for ^lthey think that they will be heard ^mfor their many words. 8 Do not be like them, ⁿfor your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 ^oPray then like this:

^p“Our Father in heaven,
^qhallowed be ^ryour name. ^{▼▼Or Let your name be kept holy, or Let your name be treated with reverence}
10 ^tYour kingdom come,
^uyour will be done, ^{▼▼Or Let your kingdom come, let your will be done}
^won earth as it is in heaven.
11 ^xGive us ^ythis day our daily bread, ^{▼▼Or our bread for tomorrow}
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And ^aalead us not into temptation,
but ^abdeliver us from ^acevil. ^{▼▼Or the evil one; some manuscripts add For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen}
14 ^aeFor if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 ^afbut if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Fasting

16 “And ^agwhen you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. ^ahTruly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, ^aianoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. ^ajAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

19 ^ak“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where ^almoth and rust ^{▼▼Or worm; also verse 20} destroy and where thieves ^anbreak in and steal, 20 ^aobut lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 ^ap“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 ^aqbut if ^aryour eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 ^as“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ^atmoney. ^{▼▼Greek mammon, a Semitic word for money or possessions}

Do Not Be Anxious

25 ^av“Therefore I tell you, ^awdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 ^axLook at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. ^ayAre you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ^azspan of life? ^{▼▼Or a single cubit to his stature; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters} 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, ^bbeven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, ^bcO you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For ^bdthe Gentiles seek after all these things, and ^beyour heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But ^bfseek first ^bgthe kingdom of God and his righteousness, ^bhand all these things will be added to you.

34 ^bi“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 13

The Parable of the Sower

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house ^bjand sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, ^bkso that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And ^blhe told them many things in parables, saying: ^bm“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 ^bnwhen the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, ^bothey withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among ^bpthorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some ^bqa hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 ^brHe 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, ^bt“To you it has been given to know ^buthe secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 ^bvFor to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, ^bweven what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because ^bxseeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, ^bynor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

^bz“‘“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 ^cathey can barely hear,
and ^cbtheir eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and ^ccunderstand with their heart
and ^cdturn, and I would heal them.’
16 But ^ceblessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 ^cfFor truly, I say to you, ^cgmany 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 ^ch“Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of ^cithe kingdom and ^cjdoes not understand it, ^ckthe 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 ^clreceives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but ^cmendures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^cnhe falls away. ^{▼▼Or stumbles} 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ^cpthe cares of ^cqthe world and ^crthe 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 ^csunderstands it. He indeed ^ctbears fruit and yields, in one case ^cua hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

24 He put another parable before them, saying, ^cv“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, ^cy‘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, " ^czGather 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, ^da“The kingdom of heaven is like ^dba 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. ^dc“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ^ddthree measures of flour, till it was ^deall leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

34 ^dfAll 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}

^dh“I will open my mouth in parables;
^diI will utter what has been hidden ^djsince the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36 Then he left the crowds and went into ^dkthe house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ^dl“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 ^dmthe sons of the kingdom. The weeds are ^dnthe sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. ^doThe harvest is ^dpthe end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds ^dqare gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at ^drthe end of the age. 41 ^dsThe Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all ^dtcauses of sin and ^duall law-breakers, 42 ^dvand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^dwthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then ^dxthe righteous will shine like the sun ^dyin the kingdom of their Father. ^dzHe who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “The kingdom of heaven ^eais like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy ^ebhe goes and sells all that he has and ^ecbuys 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 ^edone pearl of great value, ^eewent and sold all that he had and ^efbought it.

The Parable of the Net

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is ^eglike a net that was thrown into the sea and ^ehgathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, ^eimen drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at ^ejthe end of the age. The angels will come out and ^ekseparate the evil from the righteous 50 ^eland throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^emthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

51 ^en“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every ^eoscribe ^epwho has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who ^eqbrings 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 ^erand coming to ^eshis hometown ^ethe taught them in their synagogue, so that ^euthey were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 ^evIs not this ^ewthe carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not ^exhis 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 ^eythey took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, ^ez“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, ^fabecause of their unbelief.