Matthew 13:1–35

The same day went Jesus out of ^athe house, and ^bsat by the sea side. ^2cAnd great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that ^dhe went into ^ea ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. ³And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; ⁴and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: ⁵some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: ⁶and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had not root, they withered away. ⁷And some fell among ^fthorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: ⁸but other fell into good ground, and ^gbrought forth fruit, some ^han hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. ⁹ⁱWho hath ears to hear, let him hear.

¹⁰And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? ¹¹He answered and said unto them, Because ^jit is given unto you ^kto know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. ^12lFor whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even ^mthat he hath. ¹³Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. ¹⁴And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, ⁿBy hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: ¹⁵for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears ^oare dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should ^oobe converted, and I should heal them. ^16pBut ^qblessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. ¹⁷For verily I say unto you, ^rThat many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. ^18sHear ye therefore the parable of the sower. ¹⁹When any one heareth the word ^tof the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh ^uthe wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. ²⁰But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and ^wanon ^xwith joy receiveth it; ²¹yet hath he not root in himself, but ^ydureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, ^yyby and by ^zhe is offended. ²²He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and ^athe care of this world, and the deceitfulness of ^briches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. ²³But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

²⁴Another ^cparable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: ²⁵but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. ²⁶But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. ²⁷So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? ²⁸He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? ²⁹But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but ^dgather the wheat into my barn.

³¹Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, ^eThe kingdom of heaven is like unto ^fa grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: ³²which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, ^ffit is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that ^gthe birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

³³Another parable spake he unto them; ^hThe kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in ⁱthree measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. ^34kAll these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: ³⁵that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, ^lI will open my mouth in parables; ^mI will utter things which have been kept secret ⁿfrom the foundation of the world.