Parable of the Soils

Mark 4:1–20; Luke 8:4–15

13 On the same day Jesus went out of the house aand sat by the sea. 2 bAnd great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that cHe got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: d“Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some ea hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 fHe who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11 He answered and said to them, “Because git has been given to you to know the 1mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 hFor 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. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

i‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,

And seeing you will see and not jperceive;

15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Their ears kare hard of hearing,

And their eyes they have lclosed,

Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I 2should mheal them.’

16 But nblessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you othat 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.

18 p“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word qof 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. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately rreceives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when stribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately the stumbles. 22 Now uhe who received seed vamong the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears wfruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Parable of the Wheat and Tares

24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 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 xgather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

Parable of the Mustard Seed

Mark 4:30–32; Luke 13:18, 19

31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: y“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a ztree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

Parable of the Leaven

Luke 13:20, 21

33 aAnother parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three 3measures of meal till bit was all leavened.”

34 cAll these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

d“I will open My mouth in parables;

eI will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”

Parable of the Tares Explained

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 fThe field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are gthe sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, hthe harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, iand they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 jand will cast them into the furnace of fire. kThere will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 lThen the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. mHe who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and nsells all that he has and obuys that field.

Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found pone pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Parable of the Dragnet

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and qgathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, rseparate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Parable of the Householder

51 4Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?”

They said to Him, “Yes, 5Lord.”

52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every 6scribe instructed 7concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure sthings new and old.”

53 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.