Matthew 13:1-35 ▼

1 And in that day Jesus, having gone forth from the house, was sitting by the sea,

2 and gathered together to Him were many multitudes, so that He having gone into the boat sat down, and all the multitude on the beach stood,

3 and He spoke to them many things in allegories, saying, “Behold, the sower went forth to sow,

4 and in his sowing, some indeed fell by the way, and the birds having come, devoured them,

5 and others fell on the rocky places where they did not have much earth, and immediately they sprang forth, through having no depth of earth,

6 and the sun having risen they were scorched, and through having no root, they withered,

7 and others fell on the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them,

8 and others fell on the good ground, and were giving fruit, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.

9 He who is having ears to hear—let him hear.”

10 And the disciples having come near, said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in allegories?”

11 And He answering said to them that, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of the heavens, and to these it has not been given,

12 for whoever has, it will be given to him, and he will have overabundance, and whoever has not, even that which he has will be taken from him.

13 Because of this, in allegories I speak to them, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand,

14 and fulfilled on them is the prophecy of Isaiah that says, With hearing you will hear, and you will not understand, and seeing you will see, and you will not perceive,

15 for the heart of this people was made obtuse, and with the ears they barely heard, and they closed their eyes, lest they might see with the eyes, and might hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and turn back, and I might heal them.

16 And 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 that which you look on, and they did not see, and to hear that which you hear, and they did not hear.

18 You, therefore, hear the allegory of the sower:

19 Everyone hearing the word of the kingdom, and not understanding—the evil one comes, and snatches that which has been sown in his heart; this is that sown by the way.

20 And that sown on the rocky places, this is he who is hearing the word, and immediately with joy is receiving it,

21 and he has no root in himself, but is temporary, and persecution or tribulation having happened because of the word, immediately he is stumbled.

22 And that sown toward the thorns, this is he who is hearing the word, and the anxiety of this age, and the deceitfulness of the riches, chokes the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

23 And that sown on the good ground: this is he who is hearing the word, and is understanding, who indeed bears fruit, and makes, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.”

24 Another allegory He set before them, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens was likened to a man sowing good seed in his field,

25 and while men are sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the midst of the wheat, and went away,

26 and when the herb sprang up, and yielded fruit, then appeared also the darnel.

27 And the servants of the householder, having come near, said to him, Lord, did you not sow good seed in your field? From where then does it have the darnel?

28 And he says to them, A man, an enemy, did this; and the servants said to him, Will you, then, [that] having gone away we may gather it up?

29 And he said, No, lest—gathering up the darnel—you root up with it the wheat;

30 permit both to grow together until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the darnel, and bind it in bundles, to burn it, and the wheat gather up into my storehouse.”

31 Another allegory He set before them, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens is like to a grain of mustard, which a man having taken, sowed in his field,

32 which less, indeed, is than all the seeds, but when it may be grown, is greatest of the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and rest in its branches.”

33 Another allegory He spoke to them: “The kingdom of the heavens is like to leaven, which a woman having taken, hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened.”

34 All these things Jesus spoke in allegories to the multitudes, and without an allegory He was not speaking to them,

35 that it might be fulfilled that was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open in allegories My mouth, || I will utter things having been hidden from the foundation of the world.”