1On that day Jesus went out of the house, and was sitting by the sea. 2And great multitudes gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole multitude was standing on the beach. 3And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5“And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6“But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7“And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8“And others fell on the good soil, and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9“He who has ears, let him hear.”

An Explanation

     10And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11And He answered and said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12“For whoever has, to him shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13“Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14“And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
            ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;
            AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;

     15FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL,
            AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,
            AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES
            LEST THEY SHOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES,
            AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,
            AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN,
            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, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Sower Explained

     18“Hear then the parable of the sower. 19“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20“And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22“And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23“And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Tares among Wheat

     24He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25“But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. 26“But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27“And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28“And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ And the slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29“But he said, ‘No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. 30‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed

     31He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; 32and this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants, and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.”

The Leaven

     33He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened.”

     34All these things Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable, 35so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying,
            “I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES;
            I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.”

The Tares Explained

     36Then He left the multitudes, and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37And He answered and said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40“Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41“The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43“Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Hidden Treasure

     44“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.

A Costly Pearl

     45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

A Dragnet

     47“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 48and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49“So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, 50and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall 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 become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

Jesus Revisits Nazareth

     53And it came about that when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. 54And coming to His home town He began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they became astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom, and these miraculous powers? 55“Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56“And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his home town, and in his own household.” 58And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.