The Parable of the Sower^(A)

4 And ^(B)again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. ² Then He taught them many things by parables, ^(C)and said to them in His teaching:

³ “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴ And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds ^[a]of the air came and devoured it. ⁵ Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. ⁶ But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. ⁷ And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no ^[b]crop. ⁸ But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

⁹ And He said ^[c]to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Purpose of Parables^(D)

^10 (E)But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. ¹¹ And He said to them, “To you it has been given to ^(F)know the ^[d]mystery of the kingdom of God; but to ^(G)those who are outside, all things come in parables, ¹² so that

The Parable of the Sower Explained^(I)

¹³ And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? ^14 (J)The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. ¹⁶ These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; ¹⁷ and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. ¹⁸ Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹ and the ^(K)cares of this world, ^(L)the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²⁰ But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, ^[e]accept it, and bear ^(M)fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

Light Under a Basket^(N)

^21 (O)Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? ^22 (P)For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. ^23 (Q)If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

²⁴ Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. ^(R)With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. ^25 (S)For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

The Parable of the Growing Seed

²⁶ And He said, ^(T)“The kingdom of God is as if a man should ^[f]scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷ and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and ^(U)grow, he himself does not know how. ²⁸ For the earth ^(V)yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. ²⁹ But when the grain ripens, immediately ^(W)he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed^(X)

³⁰ Then He said, ^(Y)“To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; ³² but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”

Jesus’ Use of Parables

^33 (Z)And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. ³⁴ But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, ^(AA)He explained all things to His disciples.

Wind and Wave Obey Jesus^(AB)

^35 (AC)On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” ³⁶ Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. ³⁸ But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, ^(AD)“Teacher, ^(AE)do You not care that we are perishing?”

³⁹ Then He arose and ^(AF)rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ^(AG)“Peace,^[g] be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? ^(AH)How^[h] is it that you have no faith?” ⁴¹ And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

The Parable of the Sower^(A)

13 On the same day Jesus went out of the house ^(B)and sat by the sea. ^2 (C)And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that ^(D)He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

³ Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: ^(E)“Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. ⁶ But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. ⁸ But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some ^(F)a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ^9 (G)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Purpose of Parables^(H)

¹⁰ And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

¹¹ He answered and said to them, “Because ^(I)it has been given to you to know the ^[a]mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ^12 (J)For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

¹⁶ But ^(P)blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; ¹⁷ for assuredly, I say to you ^(Q)that many prophets and righteous men desired 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^(R)

^18 (S)“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word ^(T)of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. ²⁰ But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately ^(U)receives it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when ^(V)tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately ^(W)he stumbles. ²² Now ^(X)he who received seed ^(Y)among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. ²³ But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears ^(Z)fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

²⁴ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵ but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. ²⁶ But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. ²⁷ So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ ²⁸ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but ^(AA)gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed^(AB)

³¹ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ^(AC)“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, ³² which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a ^(AD)tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven^(AE)

^33 (AF)Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three ^[c]measures of meal till ^(AG)it was all leavened.”

Prophecy and the Parables

^34 (AH)All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, ³⁵ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

The Parable of the Tares Explained

³⁶ Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

³⁷ He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ^38 (AK)The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are ^(AL)the sons of the wicked one. ³⁹ The enemy who sowed them is the devil, ^(AM)the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰ Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out His angels, ^(AN)and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, ^42 (AO)and will cast them into the furnace of fire. ^(AP)There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ^43 (AQ)Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. ^(AR)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and ^(AS)sells all that he has and ^(AT)buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, ⁴⁶ who, when he had found ^(AU)one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Dragnet

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and ^(AV)gathered some of every kind, ⁴⁸ which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, ^(AW)separate the wicked from among the just, ⁵⁰ and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

^51 [d]Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?”

They said to Him, “Yes, ^[e]Lord.”

⁵² Then He said to them, “Therefore every ^[f]scribe instructed ^[g]concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure ^(AX)things new and old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth^(AY)

⁵³ Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. ^54 (AZ)When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ^55 (BA)Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And ^(BB)His brothers ^(BC)James, ^[h]Joses, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶ And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ So they ^(BD)were offended at Him.

But Jesus said to them, ^(BE)“A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” ⁵⁸ Now ^(BF)He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.