1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat down beside the sea.
2Great crowds gathered around him. So he got into a ship and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the shore.
3He told them many things in parables. He said, "Look, a farmer went out to sow his seed."
4"As he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road. The birds came and ate them up."
5"Some fell on stony ground, where there was not much soil. They sprang up at once, because the soil was not deep."
6"But when the sun came up, they were scorched. They had no root, so they withered away."
7"Some fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them."
8"But others fell on good ground and produced a crop: some a hundred times as much, some sixty times, some thirty times."
9"Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."
10The disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"
11He answered them, "Because you have been given the gift of knowing the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not."
12"For whoever has will be given more, and he will have plenty. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."
13"That is why I speak to them in parables. They look, but they do not see. They listen, but they do not hear, and they do not understand."
14"In them the prophecy of Isaiah comes true. It says, 'You will listen and listen, but never understand. You will look and look, but never perceive."
15"'For this people's heart has grown hard. Their ears hear poorly, and they have shut their eyes. Otherwise they would see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn back, and I would heal them.'"
16"But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear."
17"I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see the things you see, and did not see them. They longed to hear the things you hear, and did not hear them."
18"So listen to the parable of the farmer sowing seed."
19"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed that fell beside the road."
20"The seed that fell on stony ground is the person who hears the word and receives it at once with joy."
21"But he has no root in himself, and he lasts only a little while. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he soon falls away."
22"The seed that fell among the thorns is the person who hears the word. But the worries of this world and the false promise of riches choke the word, and he bears no fruit."
23"The seed that fell on the good ground is the person who hears the word and understands it. He bears fruit and produces a crop: some a hundred times as much, some sixty, some thirty."
24He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field."
25"But while people slept, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away."
26"When the young plants came up and made grain, the weeds showed up as well."
27"So the householder's servants came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?'"
28"He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'"
29"But he said, 'No. While you pull up the weeds, you might uproot the wheat with them."
30"'Let them both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I will tell the reapers: First gather the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned. Then gather the wheat into my barn.'"
31He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field."
32"It is indeed the smallest of all seeds. But when it is grown, it is the largest of the garden plants. It becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and rest in its branches."
33He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all raised."
34Jesus told the crowd all these things in parables. He said nothing to them without a parable.
35This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables. I will speak out things that have been kept secret since the world was made."
36Then Jesus sent the crowd away and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
37He answered them, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of man."
38"The field is the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom, but the weeds are the children of the evil one."
39"The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels."
40"So, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, that is how it will be at the end of this world."
41"The Son of man will send out his angels. They will gather out of his kingdom everything that causes sin, and all those who do wrong."
42"They will throw them into a furnace of fire. There will be weeping and grinding of teeth."
43"Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."
44"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man finds it, he hides it again. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field."
45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls."
46"When he found one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything he had and bought it."
47"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind."
48"When it was full, they pulled it to the shore. They sat down and put the good fish into containers, but threw the bad ones away."
49"That is how it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come out and separate the wicked from among the just."
50"They will throw them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and grinding of teeth."
51Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord."
52Then he said to them, "So every scribe who has been taught about the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his store things new and old."
53When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.
54He came to his own home town and taught the people in their synagogue. They were amazed, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom, and these mighty works?"
55"Is this not the carpenter's son? Is his mother not called Mary? And are his brothers not James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?"
56"And his sisters, are they not all here with us? So where did this man get all these things?"
57And they took offence at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is honoured everywhere except in his own home town and in his own house."
58And he did not do many mighty works there, because they did not believe.