Matthew 13
13
The Story of the Farmer
1That same day Jesus left the house and sat by the Sea of Galilee. 2Large crowds gathered around him. So he got into a boat and sat down. All the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things using stories. He said, “A farmer went out to plant his seed. 4He scattered the seed on the ground. Some fell on a path. Birds came and ate it up. 5Some seed fell on rocky places, where there wasn’t much soil. The plants came up quickly, because the soil wasn’t deep. 6When the sun came up, it burned the plants. They dried up because they had no roots. 7Other seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and crowded out the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It produced a crop 100, 60 or 30 times more than what was planted. 9Whoever has ears should listen.”
10The disciples came to him. They asked, “Why do you use stories when you speak to the people?”
11He replied, “Because you have been given the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. It has not been given to outsiders. 12Everyone who has this kind of knowledge will be given more knowledge. In fact, they will have very much. If anyone doesn’t have this kind of knowledge, even what little they have will be taken away from them. 13Here is why I use stories when I speak to the people. I say,
“They look, but they don’t really see.
They listen, but they don’t really hear or understand.
14In them the words of the prophet Isaiah come true. He said,
“ ‘You will hear but never understand.
You will see but never know what you are seeing.
15The hearts of these people have become stubborn.
They can barely hear with their ears.
They have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes.
They might hear with their ears.
They might understand with their hearts.
They might turn to the Lord, and then he would heal them.’ (Isaiah 6:9,10)
16But blessed are your eyes because they see. And blessed are your ears because they hear. 17What I’m about to tell you is true. Many prophets and godly people wanted to see what you see. But they didn’t see it. They wanted to hear what you hear. But they didn’t hear it.
18“Listen! Here is the meaning of the story of the farmer. 19People hear the message about the kingdom but do not understand it. Then the evil one comes. He steals what was planted in their hearts. Those people are like the seed planted on a path. 20The seed that fell on rocky places is like other people. They hear the message and at once receive it with joy. 21But they have no roots. So they last only a short time. They quickly fall away from the faith when trouble or suffering comes because of the message. 22The seed that fell among the thorns is like others who hear the message. But then the worries of this life and the false promises of wealth crowd it out. They keep the message from producing fruit. 23But the seed that fell on good soil is like those who hear the message and understand it. They produce a crop 100, 60 or 30 times more than the farmer planted.”
The Story of the Weeds
24Jesus told the crowd another story. “Here is what the kingdom of heaven is like,” he said. “A man planted good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came. The enemy planted weeds among the wheat and then went away. 26The wheat began to grow and form grain. At the same time, weeds appeared.
27“The owner’s slaves came to him. They said, ‘Sir, didn’t you plant good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’
28“ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The slaves asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’
29“ ‘No,’ the owner answered. ‘While you are pulling up the weeds, you might pull up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the workers what to do. Here is what I will say to them. First collect the weeds. Tie them in bundles to be burned. Then gather the wheat. Bring it into my storeroom.’ ”
The Stories of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
31Jesus told the crowd another story. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. Someone took the seed and planted it in a field. 32It is the smallest of all seeds. But when it grows, it is the largest of all garden plants. It becomes a tree. Birds come and rest in its branches.”
33Jesus told them still another story. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast,” he said. “A woman mixed it into 60 pounds of flour. The yeast worked its way all through the dough.”
34Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd using stories. He did not say anything to them without telling a story. 35So the words spoken by the prophet came true. He had said,
“I will open my mouth and tell stories.
I will speak about things that were hidden since the world was made.” (Psalm 78:2)
Jesus Explains the Story of the Weeds
36Then Jesus left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him. They said, “Explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.”
37He answered, “The one who planted the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world. The good seed stands for the people who belong to the kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. 39The enemy who plants them is the devil. The harvest is judgment day. And the workers are angels.
40“The weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire. That is how it will be on judgment day. 41The Son of Man will send out his angels. They will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin. They will also get rid of all who do evil. 42They will throw them into the blazing furnace. There people will weep and grind their teeth. 43Then God’s people will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Whoever has ears should listen.
The Stories of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
44“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure that was hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again. He was very happy. So he went and sold everything he had. And he bought that field.
45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader who was looking for fine pearls. 46He found one that was very valuable. So he went away and sold everything he had. And he bought that pearl.
The Story of the Net
47“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net. It was let down into the lake. It caught all kinds of fish. 48When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and gathered the good fish into baskets. But they threw the bad fish away. 49This is how it will be on judgment day. The angels will come. They will separate the people who did what is wrong from those who did what is right. 50They will throw the evil people into the blazing furnace. There the evil ones will weep and grind their teeth.
51“Do you understand all these things?” Jesus asked.
“Yes,” they replied.
52He said to them, “Every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house. He brings new treasures out of his storeroom as well as old ones.”
A Prophet Without Honor
53Jesus finished telling these stories. Then he moved on from there. 54He came to his hometown of Nazareth. There he began teaching the people in their synagogue. They were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom? Where did he get this power to do miracles?” they asked. 55“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary? Aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56Aren’t all his sisters with us? Then where did this man get all these things?” 57They were not pleased with him at all.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own town and in his own home.”
58He did only a few miracles in Nazareth because the people there had no faith.
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Matthew 13: NIrV
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Mattithyahu (Matthew) 13
13
1And on that day יהושע went out of the house and sat by the sea.
2And large crowds were gathered together to Him, so that He went into a boat and sat down. And all the crowd stood on the beach.
3And He spoke to them much in parables, saying, “See, the sower went out to sow.
4“And as he sowed, some indeed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them.
5“And others fell on 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 was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered.
7“And others fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them.
8“And others fell on good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
10And the taught ones came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11And He answering, said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the reign of the heavens,#Mattithyahu uses the word “heaven(s)” as an euphemism for the Name or designation of the Father, while Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10 use the Father’s Name/designation. but to them it has not been given.#See also Mark 4:33, 34
12“For whoever possesses, to him more shall be given, and he shall have overflowingly; but whoever does not possess, even what he possesses shall be taken away from him.#See Luke 8:18.
13“Because of this I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14“And in them the prophecy of Yeshayahu is completely filled, which says, ‘Hearing you shall hear and by no means understand, and seeing you shall see and by no means perceive,
15for the heart of this people has become thickened, and their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart, and turn back, and I heal them.’# Isa. 6:9, 10
16“And blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear,
17for truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous ones longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
18“You, then, hear the parable of the sower:
19“When anyone hears the word of the reign, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is that sown by the wayside.
20“And that sown on rocky places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,
21yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived, and when pressure or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
22“And that sown among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the worry of this age and the deceit of riches choke the word, and it becomes fruitless.# Luke 21:34; 2Tim. 3:4
23“And that sown on the good soil is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields – some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
24Another parable He put before them, saying, “The reign of the heavens has become like a man who sowed good seed in his field,
25but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel#Darnel looks like wheat but is poisonous to man and beast. among the wheat and went away.
26“And when the blade sprouted and bore fruit, then the darnel also appeared.
27“And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? From where then does it have the darnel?’
28“And he said to them, ‘A man, an enemy did this.’ And the servants said to him, ‘Do you wish then, that we go and gather them up?’
29“But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the darnel you also uproot the wheat with them.
30Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I shall say to the reapers, “First gather the darnel and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my granary.” ’ ”
31Another parable He put before them, saying, “The reign of the heavens is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,
32which indeed is less than all the seeds, but when it is grown it is greater than the plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and dwell in its branches.”# Psa. 104:12; Ezek. 17:23; Ezek. 31:6; Dan. 4:12
33Another parable He spoke to them, “The reign of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until all was leavened.”
34יהושע said all this to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable,
35so that what was spoken by the prophet might be filled, saying, “I shall open My mouth in parables, I shall pour forth what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”# Psa. 78:2
36Then, having sent the crowds away, יהושע went into the house. And His taught ones came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel of the field.”
37And He answering, said to them, “He who is sowing the good seed is the Son of Aḏam,
38and the field is the world. And the good seed, these are the sons of the reign, but the darnel are the sons of the wicked one,
39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. And the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the messengers.
40“As the darnel, then, is gathered and burned in the fire, so it shall be at the end of this age.
41“The Son of Aḏam shall send out His messengers, and they shall gather out of His reign all the stumbling-blocks,#Or all the causes of sinning/offence. and those doing lawlessness,# Zeph. 1:3#The darnel of Mat. 13:25.
42and shall throw them into the furnace of fire – there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43“Then the righteous#See Psa. 37:29; Psa. 72:7; Psa. 75:10; Psa. 118:19, 20; Psa. 146:8; Mal. 3:18; Rev. 22:11 shall shine forth as the sun# Dan. 12:3 in the reign of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
44“Again, the reign of the heavens is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man having found it, hid, and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45“Again, the reign of the heavens is like a man, a merchant, seeking fine pearls,
46“who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47“Again, the reign of the heavens is like a dragnet that was thrown into the sea and gathered some of every kind,
48which, when it was filled, they drew to shore. And they sat down and gathered the good into containers, but threw the rotten away.
49“Thus shall it be at the end of the age: the messengers shall come forth, and separate the wicked out of the midst of the righteous,
50and shall throw them into the furnace of fire – there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
51יהושע said to them, “Have you understood all this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Master.”
52And He said to them, “Therefore every scholar taught in the reign of the heavens is like a householder who brings out of his treasure matters, renewed and old.”
53And it came to be, when יהושע had ended these parables, that He left there.
54And when He had come to His own country, He taught them in their congregation, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this One get this wisdom and miracles?
55“Is this not the son of the carpenter? Is not His mother called Miryam? And His brothers Ya‛aqoḇ and Yosĕph and Shim‛on and Yehuḏah?
56“And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this One get all this?”
57And they stumbled at Him. But יהושע said to them, “A prophet is not unappreciated except in his own country and in his own house.”
58And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
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