Matthew 13
1 And in that day Jesus, having gone forth from the house, was sitting by the sea,
That same day, when Jesus had left the house and was sitting by the sea,
2 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,
such great crowds gathered round him, that he got into a boat, and sat in it, while all the people stood on the beach.
3 and he spake to them many things in similes, saying: 'Lo, the sower went forth to sow,
Then he told them many truths in parables. ‘The sower,’ he began, ‘went out to sow; and,
4 and in his sowing, some indeed fell by the way, and the fowls did come and devour them,
as they were sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
5 and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth, and immediately they sprang forth, through not having depth of earth,
Some fell on rocky places, where it had not much soil, and, because the soil wasn’t deep, sprang up at once.
6 and the sun having risen they were scorched, and through not having root, they withered,
As soon as the sun had risen, it was scorched, and, because their roots were not deep enough, withered away.
7 and others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns did come up and choke them,
Some, again, fell into the brambles; but the brambles shot up and choked it.
8 and others fell upon the good ground, and were giving fruit, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.
Some, however, fell on good soil, and yielded a return, sometimes one hundred, sometimes sixty, sometimes thirty fold.
9 He who is having ears to hear — let him hear.'
Let those who have ears hear.’
10 And the disciples having come near, said to him, 'Wherefore in similes dost thou speak to them?'
Afterwards his disciples came to him, and said, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’
11 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,
‘To you,’ answered Jesus, ‘the knowledge of the hidden truths of the kingdom of heaven has been imparted, but not to those.
12 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.
For, to all who have, more will be given, and they will have abundance; but, from all who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
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,
That is why I speak to them in parables, because, though they have eyes, they do not see, and though they have ears, they do not hear or understand.
14 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,
In them is being fulfilled that prophecy of Isaiah which says – “You will hear with your ears without ever understanding, and, though you have eyes, you will see without ever perceiving,
15 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.
for the mind of this nation has grown dense, and their ears are dull of hearing, their eyes also have they closed; otherwise some day they might perceive with their eyes, and with their ears they might hear, and in their mind they might understand, and might turn – and I might heal them.”
16 'And happy are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear,
‘But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear;
17 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.
for I tell you that many prophets and good people have longed for the sight of the things which you are seeing, yet never saw them, and to hear the things which you are hearing, yet never heard them.
18 'Ye, therefore, hear ye the simile of the sower:
‘Listen, then, yourselves to the parable of the sower.
19 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.
When anyone hears the message of the kingdom without understanding it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in their mind. This is the person meant by the seed which was sown along the path.
20 'And that sown on the rocky places, this is he who is hearing the word, and immediately with joy is receiving it,
By the seed which was sown on rocky places is meant the person who hears the message, and at once accepts it joyfully;
21 and he hath not root in himself, but is temporary, and persecution or tribulation having happened because of the word, immediately he is stumbled.
but, as they have no root, they stand for only a short time; and, when trouble or persecution arises because of the message, they fall away at once.
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. (aiōn g165)
By the seed which was sown among the brambles is meant the person who hears the message, but the cares of life and the glamour of wealth completely choke the message, so that it gives no return. (aiōn g165)
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.'
But by the seed which was sown on the good ground is meant the person who hears the message and understands it, and really yields a return, sometimes one hundred, sometimes sixty, sometimes thirty fold.’
24 Another simile he set before them, saying: 'The reign of the heavens was likened to a man sowing good seed in his field,
Another parable which Jesus told them was this – ‘The kingdom of heaven is compared to a person who sowed good seed in their field.
25 and, while men are sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the midst of the wheat, and went away,
But, while everyone was asleep, their enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.
26 and when the herb sprang up, and yielded fruit, then appeared also the darnel.
So, when the blades of corn shot up, and came into ear, the weeds made their appearance also.
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?
The owner’s servants came to them, and said “Was not it good seed that you sowed in your field? Where, then, do the weeds in it come from?”
28 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?
“An enemy has done this,” was the owner’s answer. “Do you wish us, then,” they asked, “to go and gather them together?”
29 'And he said, No, lest — gathering up the darnel — ye root up with it the wheat,
“No,” said he, “because while you are pulling up the weeds you might uproot the wheat with them.
30 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.'
Let both grow side by side until harvest; and then I will say to the reapers, Gather the weeds together first, and tie them in bundles for burning; but bring all the wheat into my barn.”’
31 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,
Another parable which he told them was this – ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field.
32 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.'
This seed is smaller than all other seeds, but, when it has grown up, it is larger than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that “the wild birds come and roost in its branches.”’
33 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.'
This was another parable which Jesus related – ‘The kingdom of heaven is like some yeast which a woman took and covered up in three pecks of flour, until the whole had risen.’
34 All these things spake Jesus in similes to the multitudes, and without a simile he was not speaking to them,
Of all this Jesus spoke to the crowd in parables; indeed to them he used never to speak at all except in parables,
35 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.'
in fulfilment of these words in the prophet – “I will speak to them in parables; I will utter things kept secret since the foundation of the world.”
36 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.'
Then Jesus left the crowd, and went into the house. Presently his disciples came to him, and said, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.’
37 And he answering said to them, 'He who is sowing the good seed is the Son of Man,
He answered, ‘The sower of 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 reign, and the darnel are the sons of the evil one,
The field is the world. By the good seed is meant the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the wicked,
39 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)
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest time is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. (aiōn g165)
40 '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)
And, just as the weeds are gathered and burnt, so it will be at the close of the age. (aiōn g165)
41 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,
The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all that hinders and those who live in sin,
42 and shall cast them to the furnace of the fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.
and will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of 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.
Then will the righteous shine, like the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. If you have ears, listen.
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.
‘The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a person found and hid again, and then, in their delight, went and sold everything that they had, and bought that field.
45 'Again, the reign of the heavens is like to a man, a merchant, seeking goodly pearls,
‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of choice pearls.
46 who having found one pearl of great price, having gone away, hath sold all, as much as he had, and bought it.
Finding one of great value, they went and sold everything that they 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,
Or again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was cast into the sea, and caught fish of all kinds.
48 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,
When it was full, they hauled it up on the beach, and sat down and sorted the good fish into baskets, but threw the worthless ones away.
49 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)
So will it be at the close of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous, (aiōn g165)
50 and shall cast them to the furnace of the fire, there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.'
and will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
51 Jesus saith to them, 'Did ye understand all these?' They say to him, 'Yes, sir.'
‘Have you understood all this?’ Jesus asked. ‘Yes,’ they answered.
52 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.'
Then he added, ‘So every teacher of the Law, who has received instruction about the kingdom of heaven, is like a householder who produces from his stores things both new and old.’
53 And it came to pass, when Jesus finished these similes, he removed thence,
When Jesus had finished these parables, he withdrew from that place.
54 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?
Going to his own part of the country, he taught the people in their synagogue in such a manner that they were deeply impressed. ‘Where did he get this wisdom?’ they said, ‘and the miracles?
55 is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas?
56 and his sisters — are they not all with us? whence, then, to this one all these?'
And his sisters, too – are not they all living among us? Where, then did he get all this?’
57 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:'
These things proved a hindrance to their believing in him. But Jesus said, ‘A prophet is not without honour, except in his own country and in his own house.’
58 and he did not there many mighty works, because of their unbelief.
He did not work many miracles there, because of their want of faith.
