Matthew 13:18–30

The Parable of the Sower Explained

¹⁸“^aHear then the parable of the sower.

¹⁹“When anyone hears ^athe word of the kingdom and does not understand it, ^bthe evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

²⁰“And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

²¹yet he has no root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he ^1afalls away.

²²“And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the worry of ^athe ¹world and the ^bdeceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

²³“And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some ^aa hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

The Parable of Tares Among Wheat

²⁴He presented another parable to them, saying, “^aThe kingdom of heaven ¹may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

²⁵“But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed ¹tares among the wheat, and went away.

²⁶“But when the ¹wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.

²⁷“The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? ¹How then does it have tares?’

²⁸“And he said to them, ‘An ¹enemy has done this!’ The slaves ^*said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’

²⁹“But he ^*said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.

³⁰‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but ^agather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”