Matthew 13:1–35

The Parable of the Sower

13That same day Jesus went out of the house ^oand sat beside the sea. ²And great crowds gathered about him, ^pso that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³And ^qhe told them many things in parables, saying: ^r“A sower went out to sow. ⁴And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ⁶but ^swhen the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, ^tthey withered away. ⁷Other seeds fell among ^uthorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some ^va hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ^9wHe who has ears,¹ let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹And he answered them, ^x“To you it has been given to know ^ythe secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ^12zFor to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, ^aeven what he has will be taken away. ¹³This is why I speak to them in parables, because ^bseeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, ^cnor do they understand. ¹⁴Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

^d“ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

¹⁵For this people’s heart has grown dull,

and with their ears ^ethey can barely hear,

and ^ftheir eyes they have closed,

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and ^gunderstand with their heart

and ^hturn, and I would heal them.’

¹⁶But ⁱblessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ¹⁷ⁱFor truly, I say to you, ^jmany prophets and righteous people longed 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

^18k“Hear then the parable of the sower: ¹⁹When anyone hears the word of ^lthe kingdom and ^mdoes not understand it, ⁿthe evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. ²⁰As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately ^oreceives it with joy, ²¹yet he has no root in himself, but ^pendures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^qhe falls away.^{2 22}As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ^rthe cares of ^sthe world and ^tthe deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²³As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and ^munderstands it. He indeed ^ubears fruit and yields, in one case ^va hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

²⁴He put another parable before them, saying, ^w“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds³ among the wheat and went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. ²⁷And the servants⁴ of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ ²⁸He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹But he said, ^x‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ^y“Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

³¹He put another parable before them, saying, ^z“The kingdom of heaven is like ^aa grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³²It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

³³He told them another parable. ^b“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ^cthree measures of flour, till it was ^dall leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

^34eAll these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. ³⁵This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:⁵

^f“I will open my mouth in parables;

^gI will utter what has been hidden ^hsince the foundation of the world.”