Matthew 13
13
The Parable of the Sower
Mk. 4:1-9; Lk. 8:4-8
1 On that day, Jesus departed from the house and was sitting by the sea. 2 And large crowds gathered around Him, so that He entered a boat and sat down, and all the crowd stood on the shore. 3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, a sower went out to sow, 4 and as he was sowing, some seeds * fell along the way, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 And others fell on the rocky places, where they * did not have much soil; and immediately they * sprang up, having no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose they * were scorched; and having no root, they * withered away. 7 And others fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them. 8 But others fell on the good soil and began to yield a crop, some a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty. 9 Whoever has ears, * let him hear.”
The Purpose of the Parables
Mk. 4:10-12; Lk. 8:9-10
10 And the disciples came near to Him and said, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 And in response, He said to them, “Because to you it has been granted to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, * but to them it has not been granted. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have in abundance; but whoever does not have, even that which he has will be taken away from him. 13 For this reason, 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 the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled in them, which says, *
“In hearing, you will hear but never understand,
And while seeing, you will see but never perceive.
15 For the heart of this people has become dull,
and with their ears, they hear with difficulty,
and they have closed their eyes,
lest they should see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their heart,
and turn, and I would heal them.” *
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people intensely desired to see the things which you see but did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear but did not hear them.
The Interpretation of the Parable of the Sower
Mk. 4:13-20; Lk. 8:11-15
18 “You, then, hear 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 sown along the way. 20 And the one who was sown on the rocky places—this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 But he has no root in himself and is momentary; so when affliction or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. 22 And the one who was sown among thorns—this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and it becomes unfruitful. 23 And the one who was sown on the good soil—this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
The Parable of the Wheat and Tares
24 He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while his men * were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants * sprouted and produced grain, then the tares appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house approached him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 And he said to them, ‘An adversary has done this.’ And the servants said to him, ‘So, do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the tares you uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of the harvest I will say to the harvesters, “First gather the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven
Mk. 4:30-32; Lk. 13:18-21
31 He presented to them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all the seeds; but when it is grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and find shelter in its branches.”
33 He spoke another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven * is like leaven, which a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until the whole was leavened.”
The Reason for Jesus' Parables
Mk 4:33-34
34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds, and without a parable, He was speaking nothing to them, 35 in order to fulfil what was spoken through* the prophet, saying,
“I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter what has been hidden
from the foundation of the world.”
The Interpretation of the Parable of the Wheat and Tares
36 Then, having dismissed the crowds, He* came into the house. And His disciples came to Him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares in the field.” 37 And in response, He said, “The one who sows 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, but the tares are the sons of the evil one. 39 And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the consummation * of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 Therefore, just as the tares are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the consummation of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and those who practise lawlessness, 42 and cast them into the furnace of fire. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let him hear.
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 * “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and concealed. And in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and purchases that field.
The Parable of a Very Precious Pearl
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking for fine pearls. 46 And having found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold everything that he had and bought it.
The Parable of the Dragnet
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was thrown into the sea and collected fish of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew it up onto the shore and sat down and collected the good ones into containers, but the bad ones they threw out. 49 So it will be at the consummation of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the righteous 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
New and Old Things
51 * “Have you comprehended all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” * 52 And He said to them, “Because of this, every scribe who has been discipled for the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a family who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
Jesus Rejected in His Hometown
Mk. 6:1-6; Lk. 4:16-30
53 And it occurred that, when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from that place. 54 And He came to His hometown and was teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were struck with amazement and said, “From what source did this man acquire* this wisdom and these miraculous powers? 55 Is not this one the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary and His brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all His sisters with us? From what source then did this man acquire all these things?” 57 And they were displeased with Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And He did not perform many miracles there on account of their unbelief.
Notes
4 The word seeds is contextually supplied for the purpose of clarification
5 Greek it. The Greek text employs a singular verb because the seeds are treated as a collective or undifferentiated whole. Used twice in this verse
6 Greek it . The Greek text employs a singular verb because the seeds are treated as a collective or undifferentiated whole. Used twice in this verse
9 Some ancient Greek manuscripts insert the prepositional phrase to hear at this point
11 Greek of the heavens. So also vv. 24,44,45,47,52
14 One ancient Greek manuscript inserts at this point the imperative statement Go and tell this people , as an interpolation from Is. 6:9
14-15 Quoted from Is. 6:9-10
25 Or people , as the term is generically understood
26 Or wheat
35 Some ancient manuscripts insert Isaiah at this point
36 Some ancient Greek manuscripts insert the name Jesus at this point, so that it reads: Jesus came into the house
39 Or end. So also v. 40,49
44 Some ancient manuscripts insert the word again at this point, likely as a way of forming a parallel structure with the introductions to vv. 45,47
51 Some ancient manuscripts begin the verse with an introductory clause: Jesus said to them…
51 Some ancient manuscripts reads “ Yes, Lord”
54 The word acquire is contextually supplied for the purpose of clarification. So also v. 56
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Matthew 13: AFINTLIT
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Matthew 13
13
The Parable of the Sower
Mk. 4:1-9; Lk. 8:4-8
1 On that day, Jesus departed from the house and was sitting by the sea. 2 And large crowds gathered around Him, so that He entered a boat and sat down, and all the crowd stood on the shore. 3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, a sower went out to sow, 4 and as he was sowing, some seeds * fell along the way, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 And others fell on the rocky places, where they * did not have much soil; and immediately they * sprang up, having no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose they * were scorched; and having no root, they * withered away. 7 And others fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them. 8 But others fell on the good soil and began to yield a crop, some a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty. 9 Whoever has ears, * let him hear.”
The Purpose of the Parables
Mk. 4:10-12; Lk. 8:9-10
10 And the disciples came near to Him and said, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 And in response, He said to them, “Because to you it has been granted to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, * but to them it has not been granted. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have in abundance; but whoever does not have, even that which he has will be taken away from him. 13 For this reason, 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 the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled in them, which says, *
“In hearing, you will hear but never understand,
And while seeing, you will see but never perceive.
15 For the heart of this people has become dull,
and with their ears, they hear with difficulty,
and they have closed their eyes,
lest they should see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their heart,
and turn, and I would heal them.” *
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people intensely desired to see the things which you see but did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear but did not hear them.
The Interpretation of the Parable of the Sower
Mk. 4:13-20; Lk. 8:11-15
18 “You, then, hear 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 sown along the way. 20 And the one who was sown on the rocky places—this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 But he has no root in himself and is momentary; so when affliction or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. 22 And the one who was sown among thorns—this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and it becomes unfruitful. 23 And the one who was sown on the good soil—this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
The Parable of the Wheat and Tares
24 He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while his men * were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants * sprouted and produced grain, then the tares appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house approached him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 And he said to them, ‘An adversary has done this.’ And the servants said to him, ‘So, do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the tares you uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of the harvest I will say to the harvesters, “First gather the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven
Mk. 4:30-32; Lk. 13:18-21
31 He presented to them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all the seeds; but when it is grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and find shelter in its branches.”
33 He spoke another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven * is like leaven, which a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until the whole was leavened.”
The Reason for Jesus' Parables
Mk 4:33-34
34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds, and without a parable, He was speaking nothing to them, 35 in order to fulfil what was spoken through* the prophet, saying,
“I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter what has been hidden
from the foundation of the world.”
The Interpretation of the Parable of the Wheat and Tares
36 Then, having dismissed the crowds, He* came into the house. And His disciples came to Him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares in the field.” 37 And in response, He said, “The one who sows 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, but the tares are the sons of the evil one. 39 And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the consummation * of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 Therefore, just as the tares are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the consummation of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and those who practise lawlessness, 42 and cast them into the furnace of fire. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let him hear.
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 * “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and concealed. And in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and purchases that field.
The Parable of a Very Precious Pearl
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking for fine pearls. 46 And having found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold everything that he had and bought it.
The Parable of the Dragnet
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was thrown into the sea and collected fish of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew it up onto the shore and sat down and collected the good ones into containers, but the bad ones they threw out. 49 So it will be at the consummation of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the righteous 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
New and Old Things
51 * “Have you comprehended all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” * 52 And He said to them, “Because of this, every scribe who has been discipled for the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a family who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
Jesus Rejected in His Hometown
Mk. 6:1-6; Lk. 4:16-30
53 And it occurred that, when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from that place. 54 And He came to His hometown and was teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were struck with amazement and said, “From what source did this man acquire* this wisdom and these miraculous powers? 55 Is not this one the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary and His brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all His sisters with us? From what source then did this man acquire all these things?” 57 And they were displeased with Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And He did not perform many miracles there on account of their unbelief.
Notes
4 The word seeds is contextually supplied for the purpose of clarification
5 Greek it. The Greek text employs a singular verb because the seeds are treated as a collective or undifferentiated whole. Used twice in this verse
6 Greek it . The Greek text employs a singular verb because the seeds are treated as a collective or undifferentiated whole. Used twice in this verse
9 Some ancient Greek manuscripts insert the prepositional phrase to hear at this point
11 Greek of the heavens. So also vv. 24,44,45,47,52
14 One ancient Greek manuscript inserts at this point the imperative statement Go and tell this people , as an interpolation from Is. 6:9
14-15 Quoted from Is. 6:9-10
25 Or people , as the term is generically understood
26 Or wheat
35 Some ancient manuscripts insert Isaiah at this point
36 Some ancient Greek manuscripts insert the name Jesus at this point, so that it reads: Jesus came into the house
39 Or end. So also v. 40,49
44 Some ancient manuscripts insert the word again at this point, likely as a way of forming a parallel structure with the introductions to vv. 45,47
51 Some ancient manuscripts begin the verse with an introductory clause: Jesus said to them…
51 Some ancient manuscripts reads “ Yes, Lord”
54 The word acquire is contextually supplied for the purpose of clarification. So also v. 56
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).