And on the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea; and were gathered together to listen to Him great crowds, so that He got into a boat and sat, and the whole multitude on the shore they stood.
And He spoke to them many things in parables saying; «Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them;
some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth, and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth, but when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away;
and some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them; but others fell on good ground and yielded a crop some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
He who has ears to hear let him hear».
And caming the disciples said to Him; «Why in parables do You speak to them?» and He answered and said to them; «Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
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.
Therefore in parables I speak to them, because seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear nor do they understand, lest they should ever turn; and then is fulfilled in them the prophecy of Isaiah which says; «hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive;
for the hearts have grown dull of this people, and their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and with their hearts understand and turn, so that I should a heal them».
But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For assuredly, I say to you 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.
Therefore hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word 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.
But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately accepts it with joy and receives it; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while, for when oppression or persecution arises because of the word immediately he stumbles.
Now he who received seed among the thorns, is someone who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
But he who received seed on the good ground, is someone who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and produces some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty».
Another parable He put forth to them, saying; «Such is the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
but while they were sleeping the people his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then also appeared the tares.
So they came the servants of the owner and said to him; «Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?»
He said to them; «An enemy has done this». And the servants said to him; «Do you want us then to go and gather them up?» But he said; «No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot with them the wheat;
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 the wheat gather into my barn».
Another parable He put forth to them saying; «Similar it is the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;
which indeed is the least of all the seeds, but when it is grown, the biggest of all the shrubs it is and becomes a tree, so that they come the birds of the sky and find shelter in its branches».
Another parable He spoke to them; «Similar it is the kingdom of heaven to leaven, which a woman took and hid in flour of three measures, till it was all leavened».
All these things Jesus spoke in parables to the crowds, and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying; «I will open in parables My mouth, I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world».
Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And they came to Him His disciples saying; «Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field». And He answered and said to them; «He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;
and the field is the world; and the good seeds, these are the sons of the kingdom; while the tares are the sons of the wicked one; And the enemy who sowed them is the devil; while the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are the angels.
As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
He will send out, the Son of Man His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend and those who practice the lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be wailing and the gnashing of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear let him hear.
Again, similar it is the kingdom of heaven to a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid it again, and in his joy he goes and all that he has he sells and buys that field.
Again, similar it is the kingdom of heaven to a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls; who, when he had found one pearl of great price he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Again, similar it is the kingdom of heaven to a dragnet that was cast into the sea and of every kind of fish it gathered; which, when the net was full, they drew it up on the beach and they sat down and gathered the good fish into vessels, but the bad they threw away.
So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth and will separate the wicked from among the just, and they will cast them into the furnace of fire; where there will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth».
Jesus said to them; «Have you understood all these things?» They said to Him, «Yes, Lord». Then He said to them; «Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house, who brings out of his treasure things new and old».
Now it came to pass when Jesus had finished these parables that He departed from there, and coming 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?
Is He not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary and His brothers James and Joses and Simon and Judas? And His sisters are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?»
And they stumbled because of him. But Jesus said to them; «A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house». And He did not do there many mighty works because of their unbelief.