Matthew 13

Lexham English Bible

The Parable of the Sower

13 On that day Jesus went out of the house and^[a] was sitting by the sea.^{[b] 2} And large crowds gathered close around him, so that he got into a boat to sit down, and all the crowd was standing on the shore. ³ And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow, ⁴ and while he was sowing, some seed^[c] fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and^[d] devoured it. ⁵ And other seed fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once because it did not have any depth of soil. ⁶ But when^[e] the sun rose it was scorched, and because it did not have enough root, it withered. ⁷ And other seed fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it. ⁸ But other seed fell on the good soil and produced grain,^[f] this one a hundred times as much and this one sixty and this one thirty. ⁹ The one who has ears, let him hear!”

The Reason for the Parables

¹⁰ And the disciples came up and^[g] said to him, “Why^[h] do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And he answered and^[i] said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to those people it has not been granted. ¹² For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ¹³ For this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand, ¹⁴ and with reference to them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says,

¹⁶ But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it,^[m] and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it!^[n]

The Parable of the Sower Interpreted

¹⁸ “You, therefore, listen to the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When^[o] anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it,^[p] the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown on the side of the path. ²⁰ And what was sown on the rocky ground—this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. ²¹ But he does not have a root in himself, but lasts only a little while,^[q] and when^[r] affliction or persecution happens because of the word, immediately he falls away. ²² And what was sown into the thorn plants—this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of this world^[s] and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unproductive. ²³ But what was sown on the good soil—this is the one who hears the word and understands it,^[t] who indeed bears fruit and produces, this one a hundred times as much, and this one sixty, and this one thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat

²⁴ He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while his^[u] people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel^[v] in the midst of the wheat and went away. ²⁶ So when the wheat^[w] sprouted and yielded grain, then the darnel appeared also. ²⁷ So the slaves of the master of the house came and^[x] said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have darnel?’ ²⁸ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So the slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and^[y] gather them?’ ²⁹ But he said, “No, lest when you^[z] gather the darnel you uproot the wheat together with it. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the season of the harvest I will tell the reapers, “First gather the darnel and tie it into bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my storehouse.”’”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

³¹ He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and^[aa] sowed in his field. ³² It^[ab] is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is larger than the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”

The Parable of the Yeast

³³ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and^[ac] put into three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”

Parables Fulfill Prophecy

³⁴ Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables, and he was saying nothing to them without a parable, ³⁵ in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, who said,

The Parable of the Weeds Interpreted

³⁶ Then he left the crowds and^[af] came into the house, and his disciples came to him saying, “Explain the parable of the darnel in the field to us.” ³⁷ So he answered and^[ag] said, “The one who sows 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 kingdom, but the darnel are the sons of the evil one. ³⁹ And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ Thus just as the darnel is gathered and burned^[ah] with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and those who do lawless deeds, ⁴² and throw them into the fiery furnace.^[ai] In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth! ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.^[aj] The one who has ears, let him hear!

The Parable of the Treasure Hidden in a Field

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, that a man found and^[ak] concealed, and in his joy he goes and sells everything that he has and buys that field.

The Parable of the Valuable Pearl

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ And when he^[al] found one very valuable pearl, he went and^[am] sold everything that he possessed and purchased it.

The Parable of the Dragnet

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish^[an] of every kind, ⁴⁸ which when it was filled they pulled to shore and sat down and^[ao] collected the good fish^[ap] into containers, but the bad they threw out. ⁴⁹ Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the evil from among the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the fiery furnace.^[aq] In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” ⁵² And he said to them, “For this reason every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of the house who brings out of his storeroom new things and old things.”

Rejected at Nazareth

⁵³ And it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables he went away from there. ⁵⁴ And he came to his hometown and^[ar] began to teach^[as] them in their synagogue, so that they were amazed and said, “From where did this man get this wisdom and these miracles? ⁵⁵ Is not this one the son of the carpenter? Is not his mother called Mary and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ And are not all his sisters with us? From where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸ And he did not perform many miracles in that place because of their unbelief.