Matthew 13
13
1And in that day Jesus, having gone forth from the house, was sitting by the sea,
2and gathered together unto him were many multitudes, so that he having gone into the boat did sit down, and all the multitude on the beach did stand,
3and he spake to them many things in similes, saying: ‘Lo, the sower went forth to sow,
4and in his sowing, some indeed fell by the way, and the fowls did come and devour them,
5and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth, and immediately they sprang forth, through not having depth of earth,
6and the sun having risen they were scorched, and through not having root, they withered,
7and others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns did come up and choke them,
8and others fell upon the good ground, and were giving fruit, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.
9He who is having ears to hear — let him hear.’
10And the disciples having come near, said to him, ‘Wherefore in similes dost thou speak to them?’
11And he answering said to them that — ‘To you it hath been given to know the secrets of the reign of the heavens, and to these it hath not been given,
12for whoever hath, it shall be given to him, and he shall have overabundance, and whoever hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken from him.
13‘Because of this, in similes do I speak to them, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand,
14and fulfilled on them is the prophecy of Isaiah, that saith, With hearing ye shall hear, and ye shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and ye shall not perceive,
15for made gross was the heart of this people, and with the ears they heard heavily, and their eyes they did close, lest they might see with the eyes, and with the ears might hear, and with the heart understand, and turn back, and I might heal them.
16‘And happy are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear,
17for verily I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men did desire to see that which ye look on, and they did not see, and to hear that which ye hear, and they did not hear.
18‘Ye, therefore, hear ye the simile of the sower:
19Every one hearing the word of the reign, and not understanding — the evil one doth come, and doth catch that which hath 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,
21and he hath not 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, do choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
23‘And that sown on the good ground: this is he who is hearing the word, and is understanding, who indeed doth bear fruit, and doth make, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.’
24Another simile he set before them, saying: ‘The reign of the heavens was likened to a man sowing good seed in his field,
25and, while men are sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the midst of the wheat, and went away,
26and 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, Sir, good seed didst thou not sow in thy field? whence then hath it the darnel?
28And he saith to them, A man, an enemy, did this; and the servants said to him, Wilt thou, then, [that] having gone away we may gather it up?
29‘And he said, No, lest — gathering up the darnel — ye root up with it the wheat,
30suffer both to grow together till 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.’
31Another simile he set before them, saying: ‘The reign of the heavens is like to a grain of mustard, which a man having taken, did sow in his field,
32which less, indeed, is than all the seeds, but when it may be grown, is greatest of the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven do come and rest in its branches.’
33Another simile spake he to them: ‘The reign of the heavens is like to leaven, which a woman having taken, hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.’
34All these things spake Jesus in similes to the multitudes, and without a simile he was not speaking to them,
35that it might be fulfilled that was spoken through the prophet, saying, ‘I will open in similes my mouth, I will utter things having been hidden from the foundation of the world.’
36Then having let away the multitudes, Jesus came to the house, and his disciples came near to him, saying, ‘Explain to us the simile of the darnel of the field.’
37And he answering said to them, ‘He who is sowing the good seed is the Son of Man,
38and the field is the world, and the good seed, these are the sons of the reign, and the darnel are the sons of the evil one,
39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is a full end of the age, and the reapers are messengers.
40‘As, then, the darnel is gathered up, and is burned with fire, so shall it be in the full end of this age,
41the Son of Man shall send forth his messengers, and they shall gather up out of his kingdom all the stumbling-blocks, and those doing the unlawlessness,
42and shall cast them to 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 reign of their Father. He who is having ears to hear — let him hear.
44‘Again, the reign of the heavens is like to treasure hid in the field, which a man having found did hide, and from his joy goeth, and all, as much as he hath, he selleth, and buyeth that field.
45‘Again, the reign of the heavens is like to a man, a merchant, seeking goodly pearls,
46who having found one pearl of great price, having gone away, hath sold all, as much as he had, and bought it.
47‘Again, the reign of the heavens is like to a net that was cast into the sea, and did gather together of every kind,
48which, when it was filled, having drawn up again upon the beach, and having sat down, they gathered the good into vessels, and the bad they did cast out,
49so shall it be in the full end of the age, the messengers shall come forth and separate the evil out of the midst of the righteous,
50and shall cast them to the furnace of the fire, there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.’
51Jesus saith to them, ‘Did ye understand all these?’ They say to him, ‘Yes, sir.’
52And he said to them, ‘Because of this every scribe having been discipled in regard to the reign of the heavens, is like to a man, a householder, who doth bring forth out of his treasure things new and old.’
53And it came to pass, when Jesus finished these similes, he removed thence,
54and having come to his own country, he was teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and were saying, ‘Whence to this one this wisdom and the mighty works?
55is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren
56and his sisters — are they not all with us? whence, then, to this one all these?’
57and they were stumbled at him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour except in his own country, and in his own house:’
58and he did not there many mighty works, because of their unbelief.
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Matthew 13: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
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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