The Parable of the Sower

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house ^oand sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, ^pso that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And ^qhe told them many things in parables, saying: ^r“A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but ^swhen the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, ^tthey withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among ^uthorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some ^va hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 ^wHe who has ears,¹ let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, ^x“To you it has been given to know ^ythe secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 ^zFor to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, ^aeven what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because ^bseeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, ^cnor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

16 But ⁱblessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 ⁱFor truly, I say to you, ^jmany prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18 ^k“Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of ^lthe kingdom and ^mdoes not understand it, ⁿthe evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately ^oreceives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but ^pendures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^qhe falls away.² 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ^rthe cares of ^sthe world and ^tthe deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and ^munderstands it. He indeed ^ubears fruit and yields, in one case ^va hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

24 He put another parable before them, saying, ^w“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds³ among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants⁴ of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ^x‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ^y“Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

31 He put another parable before them, saying, ^z“The kingdom of heaven is like ^aa grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

33 He told them another parable. ^b“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ^cthree measures of flour, till it was ^dall leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

34 ^eAll these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:⁵

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36 Then he left the crowds and went into ⁱthe house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ^j“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is ^kthe sons of the kingdom. The weeds are ^lthe sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. ^mThe harvest is ⁿthe end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds ^oare gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at ⁿthe end of the age. 41 ^pThe Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all ^qcauses of sin and ^rall law-breakers, 42 ^sand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^tthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then ^uthe righteous will shine like the sun ^vin the kingdom of their Father. ^wHe who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “The kingdom of heaven ^xis like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy ^yhe goes and sells all that he has and ^zbuys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding ^aone pearl of great value, ^ywent and sold all that he had and ^zbought it.

The Parable of the Net

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is ^blike a net that was thrown into the sea and ^cgathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, ^dmen drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at ^ethe end of the age. The angels will come out and ^fseparate the evil from the righteous 50 ^gand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^gthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

51 ^h“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every ⁱscribe ^jwho has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who ^kbrings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 ^land coming to ^mhis hometown ⁿhe taught them in their synagogue, so that ^othey were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 ^pIs not this ^qthe carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not ^rhis brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And ^sthey took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, ^t“A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, ^ubecause of their unbelief.

How Long, O Lord?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.