Matthew 13

1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.

2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood on the shore.

3He told them many things in parables: “Look, a sower went out to sow.

4As he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

5Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was not deep.

6But when the sun rose, it was scorched, and because it had no root, it withered away.

7Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.

8Still other seed fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, some thirty.

9Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

10The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”

11He answered them, “It has been given to you to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but it has not been given to them.

12For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken away from them.

13This is why I speak to them in parables: because seeing, they do not see, and hearing, they do not hear or understand.

14In them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says: ‘You will keep on hearing but never understand; you will keep on looking but never see.

15For the heart of this people has grown dull; with their ears they can barely hear, and they have closed their eyes, so that they will not see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and turn back, and I would heal them.’

16But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.

17For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

18So listen to the parable of the sower.

19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

20The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.

21But they have no root in themselves and last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately fall away.

22The seed sown among the thorns is the person who hears the word, but the worries of the present age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

23But the seed sown on good soil is the person who hears the word and understands it. This one bears fruit and yields a crop, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, some thirty.”

24He put another parable before them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

25But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.

26When the plants sprouted and formed heads of grain, then the weeds appeared too.

27The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’

28He told them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them up?’

29But he said, ‘No, because while you are gathering the weeds, you might uproot the wheat along with them.

30Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I will tell the harvesters, “First gather the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

31He put another parable before them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

32It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”

33He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and hid in three seahs of flour until all of it was leavened.”

34Jesus said all these things to the crowds in parables, and he said nothing to them without a parable,

35so that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will pour out things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

36Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

37He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

38The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one,

39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

40So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.

41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom everything that causes people to stumble and those who practice lawlessness,

42and they will throw them into the blazing furnace. There will be weeping and grinding of teeth there.

43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

44The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it, and then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.

45Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.

46When he found one pearl of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

47Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind.

48When it was full, they hauled it up on the shore, sat down, and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad ones away.

49That is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous

50and throw them into the blazing furnace. There will be weeping and grinding of teeth there.

51Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.”

52He said to them, “That is why every scribe who has been trained as a disciple for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom things both new and old.”

53When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there.

54He came to his hometown and taught the people in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?

55Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary, and are not his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

56And are not all his sisters here with us? So where 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 hometown and in his own household.”

58And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.