Matthew 13
1 That same day Jesus, [along with us] disciples, left the house [where he was teaching and went] to [Galilee lake]. He sat down there,
And in that day Jesus, having gone forth from the house, was sitting by the sea,
2 and a very large crowd gathered around him to [listen to his teaching]. So, [in order that they would not jostle him] (OR, [to speak to the people better]), he got into a boat and sat down [to teach them]. The crowd stood on the shore [and was listening].
and 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,
3 He was telling them many parables. [One of the parables] that he told them was this: “Listen! A man went out [to his field] to sow [some seeds].
and he spake to them many things in similes, saying: 'Lo, the sower went forth to sow,
4 As he was scattering [them over the soil], some [of the] seeds fell on the path. Then some birds came and ate those seeds.
and in his sowing, some indeed fell by the way, and the fowls did come and devour them,
5 Other [seeds] fell on ground where there was not much soil [on top of the] rock. Those seeds sprouted very soon, [because the sun quickly warmed] the shallow soil.
and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth, and immediately they sprang forth, through not having depth of earth,
6 But when [the young plants came up], they were scorched by the sun, and they withered because they did not have [deep] roots.
and the sun having risen they were scorched, and through not having root, they withered,
7 Other seeds fell on [ground that contained roots of] thorny [weeds]. The thorny weeds grew [together with the young plants], and [they] crowded out [the plants].
and others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns did come up and choke them,
8 [But] other seeds fell on good soil, and [the plants grew and] produced [a lot of] grain. Some [plants produced] 100 times [as many seeds as were planted]. Some [plants produced] 60 times [as much]. Some [plants produced] 30 times [as much].
and others fell upon the good ground, and were giving fruit, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.
9 If you want to understand this [MTY], you should consider [carefully what I have just said].”
He who is having ears to hear — let him hear.'
10 [We] disciples approached Jesus and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you speak to the crowd?”
And the disciples having come near, said to him, 'Wherefore in similes dost thou speak to them?'
11 He answered [us] saying, “God [EUP/MTY] is revealing to you what he did not reveal before, about [how he wants to] rule [over people’s lives]. But he has not revealed it to others.
And 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,
12 Those who [think about what I say and] understand [it], God will enable them to understand more. But those who do not [think carefully about what I say] will forget even what they already know.
for 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 That is why I use parables when I speak to people, because although they see [what I do], they do not perceive [what it means], and although they hear [what I say], they do not really understand [what it means].
'Because of this, in similes do I speak to them, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand,
14 What these people do completely fulfills what [God told] the prophet Isaiah [to say long ago to the people who did not] try to understand what he said, You will hear [what I say], but you will not understand it. You will keep seeing [what I do], but you will not understand [what it means] [DOU].
and 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,
15 [God also said to Isaiah], These people have become unresponsive [MTY] [to what they see me do and to what they hear me say]. They listen unwillingly [MTY] [to what I say], and they do not pay attention to [MTY] [what I do]. If it were not so, they would perceive [MTY] [what I am doing], they would understand [MTY] [what I say to them], and they would turn [away from their sinful lives] and turn [to me], and I would save them [from being punished for their sins] [MET].
for 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 But as for you, God is pleased with you because you [SYN] have seen [what I have done] and because you [SYN] understand [what I say] [DOU].
'And happy are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear,
17 Note this: Many prophets and righteous people [who lived long ago] longed to see what you are seeing [me do], but they did not see it. They longed to hear the things that you have been hearing [me say], but they did not hear [what you hear me say].” [DOU]
for 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 “[Since God wants] you [to understand what I am teaching you], listen as I [explain] the parable about the man who sowed [seeds in various kinds of soil].
'Ye, therefore, hear ye the simile of the sower:
19 The people who hear about how God rules over people’s lives and do not understand [what they have heard] are [like] the path where [some of] the seeds fell. [Satan], the Evil One, comes and causes these people to forget [MET] what they have heard [MET].
Every 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 [Some people are like the] shallow soil on top of rock. When they hear God’s message, they immediately accept it joyfully.
'And that sown on the rocky places, this is he who is hearing the word, and immediately with joy is receiving it,
21 [But because it does not penetrate deeply into their inner beings, they believe it for only] a [short] time. [They are like the plants that] did not have [deep] roots. When they are treated badly and caused to suffer because they believe [God’s message], they soon stop believing [it].
and he hath not root in himself, but is temporary, and persecution or tribulation having happened because of the word, immediately he is stumbled.
22 [Some people are like the soil that had the roots of] thorny [weeds] in it. They hear God’s message, but they desire to be rich, [so they] worry [only] about [MTY, PRS] material things. As a result, they [PRS] forget [God’s] message, and they do not do [IDM] the things that God wants them to do. (aiōn g165)
'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. (aiōn g165)
23 But [some people are like the] good soil where [some of the seeds] fell. [Just like the plants that grew in this soil] produced a lot of grain, [these people] hear my message and understand it. [Some of them] do many things [IDM] [that please God, some do] even more [things that please God, and some do] very many [things that please God].”
'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.'
24 Jesus also told the crowd another parable, [by which he tried to explain that although] God [MTY/EUP] is a king, [he will not immediately judge and punish all the wicked people]. Jesus said, “[God] is like a landowner [who sent his servants] to sow good [wheat] seed in his field.
Another simile he set before them, saying: 'The reign of the heavens was likened to a man sowing good seed in his field,
25 While those servants were sleeping [and not watching the field], an enemy of the landowner came and scattered weed [seeds] in the midst of the wheat. Then he left.
and, while men are sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the midst of the wheat, and went away,
26 After [the seeds] sprouted and the green plants [grew], the heads of grain began to form. But the weeds also grew.
and when the herb sprang up, and yielded fruit, then appeared also the darnel.
27 So the servants of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, you [RHQ] [gave us good seeds and those are the ones we] [RHQ] [planted] in your field. So where did the weeds come from?’
'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?
28 The landowner said to them, ‘[My] enemy did this.’ His servants said to him, ‘So, do you want us to pull up [the weeds and] put them in a pile?’
And 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 He said [to them], ‘No, [do not do that, because] you might pull up [some of] the wheat at the same time.
'And he said, No, lest — gathering up the darnel — ye root up with it the wheat,
30 Let the wheat and the weeds grow together until harvest [time].’ At that time I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather the weeds, tie them into bundles to be burned. Then gather the wheat [and put it] into my barns.’”
suffer 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.'
31 Jesus also told this parable: “The [number of] (OR, [God’s influence in the lives of]) [people whose] lives God rules over [will continue to grow. It is very much] like mustard seeds grow after a man plants them in his field.
Another 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,
32 Although mustard seeds are among the smallest of all the seeds [that people plant, here in Israel they become large plants. When the plants have fully grown, they are larger than the other garden plants. They become shrubs that are large enough for birds to build nests in their branches.”]
which 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.'
33 Jesus also told this parable: “[The way people who let] God [MTY/EUP] rule their lives [MET] [can influence the world] is like yeast that a woman mixed with about 50 pounds of flour. [That small amount of yeast made] the whole batch of dough swell up.”
Another 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.'
34 Jesus told the crowd parables [to teach them] all these things. When he spoke [HYP] to them, he habitually used such illustrations.
All these things spake Jesus in similes to the multitudes, and without a simile he was not speaking to them,
35 By doing that, [he] fulfilled what [God told one of] the prophets to write [long ago]: I will speak [MTY] in parables; I will tell [parables to teach] what I have kept secret since I created the world.
that 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.'
36 After Jesus dismissed the crowds, he went inside. Then [we] disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable about the weeds [that grew] in the [wheat] field.”
Then 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.'
37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed represents [me], the one who came from heaven.
And he answering said to them, 'He who is sowing the good seed is the Son of Man,
38 The field represents this world [MTY], [where people live]. The seeds [that grew] well represent the people who let God rule their lives [MET]. The weeds represent the people who do what [the devil], the Evil One, [tells them to do].
and 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,
39 The enemy who sowed the weed seeds represents the devil. The [time when the reapers will] harvest [the grain] represents the time when the world will end. The reapers represent the angels. (aiōn g165)
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is a full end of the age, and the reapers are messengers. (aiōn g165)
40 The weeds are gathered and burned. {The reapers gather the weeds. Then they burn them.} That represents [the judging of people, which God will do] when the world will end. [It will be like this]: (aiōn g165)
'As, then, the darnel is gathered up, and is burned with fire, so shall it be in the full end of this age, (aiōn g165)
41 I, the one who came from heaven, will send my angels, and they will gather [from everywhere the people] who cause others to quit believing in me [MET] and all those who disobey [God’s] commands.
the 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,
42 They will throw those people into the fires of [hell]. There those people will weep and grind their teeth [because of the great pain that they are suffering]. (questioned)
and shall cast them to the furnace of the fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.
43 [God’s] brightness will shine [on] the people who have lived as he wants them to. It will shine [on them as brightly] as the sun [shines]. It will shine on them in the place where [God], their Father, rules over them. If you want to understand this [MTY], you should think [carefully] about what I have just said.”
'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 “[What people do who begin to allow] God [MTY/EUP] to rule their lives is like [what a certain man did to acquire a treasure]. A treasure was hidden in a field by someone {Someone hid a treasure in a field [and never dug it up again]}. When [another] man found it, he hid it [by burying it again in order that no one else would find it]. Being very happy [that he had found something very valuable, he went and] sold all his possessions [to obtain money to buy the field the treasure was in]. He then went and bought the field, [and so he was able to acquire that treasure].
'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 Also, what [people do who begin to allow] God [MTY/EUP] to rule their lives is like [what] a merchant [did who was] looking for good quality pearls [to buy].
'Again, the reign of the heavens is like to a man, a merchant, seeking goodly pearls,
46 When he found one very costly pearl [that was for sale], he sold all his possessions [to acquire enough money to buy that pearl]. Then he [went and] bought it.
who having found one pearl of great price, having gone away, hath sold all, as much as he had, and bought it.
47 What God [MTY/EUP] [will do to people who falsely say that they are letting him] rule their lives is like what certain [fishermen] did [with the fish they caught] in a lake, using a large net. They caught all classes [of fish, both useful and worthless fish].
'Again, the reign of the heavens is like to a net that was cast into the sea, and did gather together of every kind,
48 When the net was full, the [fishermen] pulled it up onto the shore. Then they sat there and put the useful [fish] into buckets, and threw the worthless ones away.
which, 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,
49 [What they did in separating the good fish from the bad ones] is like [what will happen to people] when the world ends. The angels will come [to where God is judging people], and will separate the wicked [people] from the righteous [ones]. (aiōn g165)
so 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, (aiōn g165)
50 They will throw the wicked people into the fire [in hell]. And those wicked people will weep and gnash their teeth [because of the intense pain they are suffering].” (questioned)
and shall cast them to the furnace of the fire, there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.'
51 [Then Jesus asked us], “Do you understand all these [parables I have told you]?” We said to him,
Jesus saith to them, 'Did ye understand all these?' They say to him, 'Yes, sir.'
52 “Yes, [we understand them].” Then he said to us, “Because [you understand all these parables], [you will understand the following parable: You, along with] all others, will teach people what [you heard me say] about God ruling people’s lives. [You will add that to what you formerly learned. You will be] like a manager of a household who takes both new things and old things out of his storage room.”
And 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.'
53 When Jesus had finished [telling] these parables, he took [us] and left that [area].
And it came to pass, when Jesus finished these similes, he removed thence,
54 We went to [Nazareth, his hometown. (On the Sabbath/On the Jewish rest day]) he began to teach the people in the Jewish worship house. The result was that the people there were astonished. But [some] said, “[This man is just an ordinary person like us. So] how is it that he knows so much and understands so much [RHQ]? And how is it that he is able to do [such] miracles [RHQ]?
and 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?
55 (He is [just] the son of the carpenter!/Isn’t he [just] the son of the carpenter [that lived here]?) [RHQ] His mother is Mary, and his younger brothers are James, Joseph, Simon and Judas [RHQ]!
is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 (And his sisters [also live] here in our [town]./Do not his sisters [live] in our [town]?) [RHQ] So how is he able to do all these [miracles]?”
and his sisters — are they not all with us? whence, then, to this one all these?'
57 The people were unable to accept [that] he [was the Messiah. So] Jesus said to them, “[People] honor [me and other] prophets [everywhere else we go], but in [our] hometowns [we are] not [honored], and [even] our own families do not [honor us!]”
and 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:'
58 Jesus did not perform many miracles there because the people did not believe [that he was the Messiah].
and he did not there many mighty works, because of their unbelief.
