1 On that :day went :Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea. 2 And great crowds were gathered unto him so that he entered into a boat, and sat; and the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he spake to them many things in parables, saying, Lo, the sower went forth to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them: 5 and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: and straightway they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth: 6 and when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, withered away. 7 And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns came up, and choked them: 8 and others fell upon the good †:ground, and yielded fruit, the one a hundredfold, the one sixty, the one thirty. 9 Who hath ears, let him hear.
10 And the disciples came, and said to him, Why speakest thou to them in parables? 11 And he answered and said, [that] To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it is not given. 12 For whoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but whoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even what he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And to them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith,
By hearing ye shall hear, and in nowise understand; And seeing ye shall see, and in nowise perceive:
15 For the heart of this :people is waxed gross,
And their :ears are dull of hearing,
And their :eyes they have closed;
Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart, and should turn again, And I shall heal them.
16 But blessed YOUR :eyes, for they see; and YOUR :ears, for they hear. 17 For Amen I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what things ye see, and saw not; and to hear what things ye hear, and heard not. 18 Hear YE therefore the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth not, the evil one cometh and snatcheth away what hath been sown in his :heart. This is he sown by the wayside. 20 And he sown upon the rocky places, this is who heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it; 21 yet hath no root in himself, but dureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth. 22 And he sown among the thorns, this is who heareth the word; and the care of the age, and the deceitfulness of :riches, chokes the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23 And he sown upon the good ground, this is who heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit and bringeth forth, the one a hundredfold, the one sixty, the one thirty.
24 Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of the heavens is likened to a man that sowed good seed in his :field: 25 but while :men slept, his :enemy came and sowed tares also among the grain, and went away. 26 But when the blade sprang up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 And the bondmen of the householder came and said to him, Lord, didst thou not sow good seed in thy :field? whence then hath it tares? 28 And he said to them, A hostile man did this. And they say to him, Wilt thou then that we go away, and gather them up? 29 But he saith, Nay; lest haply in gathering up the tares, ye root up the grain with them. 30 Let both grow together till the reaping: and in the season of the reaping I will say to the reapers, First gather up the tares, and bind them into bundles to :burn them: but gather the grain into my :barn. 31 Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of the heavens is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his :field: 32 which indeed is a lesser among all the seeds; but when it is grown is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and lodge in the branches thereof. 33 Another parable spake he to them; The kingdom of the heavens is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three †measures of meal, till all was leavened. 34 All these spake :Jesus in parables to the crowds; and without parable spake he nothing to them: 35 so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying,
I will open my :mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation.
36 Then he left the crowds, and went into the house: and his :disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field. 37 And he answered and said, Who soweth the good seed is the Son of :man; 38 and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the reaping is the consummation of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; thus shall it be in the consummation of the age. 41 The Son of :man shall send forth his :angels, and they shall gather out of his :kingdom all the stumbling blocks and them that do :iniquity, 42 and shall cast them into the furnace of the fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their :Father. Who hath ears, let him hear. 44 The kingdom of the heavens is like treasure hid in the field; which a man found, and hid; and in his :joy goeth and selleth whatever he hath, and buyeth that :field. 45 Again the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant seeking goodly pearls. 46 And having found one pearl of great price, went and sold all he had, and bought it. 47 Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a net, cast into the sea, and gathering of every kind: 48 which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach; and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast away the bad. 49 Thus shall it be in the consummation of the age: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and shall cast them into the furnace of :fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth. 51 Have ye understood all these? They say to him, Yea. 52 And he said to them, Therefore every scribe discipled to the kingdom of the heavens is like a man a householder, who bringeth forth out of his :treasure things new and old.
53 And it came to pass, when :Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. 54 And coming into his :country he taught them in their :synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this :wisdom, and the powers? 55 Is not this the son of the carpenter? is not his :mother called †Mariam? and his :brethren, James and Joseph, and Simon, and Judah? 56 And his :sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? 57 And they stumbled in him. But :Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his :country, and in his :house. 58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their :unbelief.
