1 That day Jesus left the house and sat by the seashore.

2 Large crowds gathered to him. He entered a boat while the crowd stood on the shore.

3 He told them many illustrations. He said: »A farmer went out to sow.

4 »Some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds devoured them.

5 »Others fell on rocky places and did not have much soil.

6 »When they grew, the sun scorched them, and because they had no root they withered and died.

7 »Others fell upon the thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them.

8 »Some fell on good ground and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.

9 »He that has ears let him hear.«

10 The disciples asked him: »Why do you speak in illustrations?«

11 He responded: »You are allowed to know the divine secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but it is not for others to know. The Greek word for »you« is plural and is applied to the disciples as a group.

12 »He who has shall receive more to the point of abundance. He who does not have, it shall be taken away including that which he has.

13 »I speak to them in illustrations storiesparablesallegories, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear. They just do not understand.

14 »The prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled. ‘By hearing, you shall hear, and shall in no way understand. By seeing you shall see, and shall in no way perceive.

15 »‘The heart of this people is callous and dull. Their ears are plugged. They cannot hear. They closed their eyes and cannot see. They cannot see nor hear nor understand with their heart. They should turn around and I would heal them.’

16 »Happy and blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.

17 »Truly, I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things that you see, and could not see them. They also desired to hear the things that you hear, and could not hear them.

18 »Listen to the illustration of the sower.

19 »When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand, the evil one takes away that which was sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside.

20 »Anyone sown among the rocky places hears the word and immediately with joy receives it.

21 »There is no root in him. He endures for a while. When he has tribulation or persecution because of the word, he falls away.

22 »He that was sown among thorns hears the word. The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

23 »He that was sown upon the good ground hears the word, and understands it. He bears fruit, producing sometimes a hundredfold, sometimes sixty, and sometimes thirty.«

24 He told another illustration, saying: »The kingdom of heaven is like a man that sowed good seed in his field.

25 »While he slept, his enemy came and sowed weeds with the wheat, and went away.

26 »When the blade sprouted and brought forth fruit, it looked like wheat.

27 »The servants of the householder said to him: ‘Sir, did you sow good seed in your field? Why does it have weeds mixed in with the good wheat?’

28 »He replied: ‘An enemy did this.’ The servants offered to remove the weeds.

29 »He said: ‘No, you might uproot the wheat with them.

30 »‘Let both grow together until the harvest. In the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers: »Gather weeds first, and bind them in bundles to burn them. Then gather the wheat into my barn.« ’«

31 In another illustration Jesus said: »The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man sowed in his field.

32 »Mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds. Yet when it grows it becomes as large as a tree. In fact the birds of heaven lodge in the branches.«

33 He offered another illustration: »The kingdom of heaven is similar to leaven. A woman hid leaven in three measures of meal until it was all leavened.«

34 Jesus spoke with illustrations to the crowds. He did not speak anything without using illustrations.

35 That which was spoken through the prophet was fulfilled, saying: »I will open my mouth in illustrations. I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.«

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples gathered near him. They said: »Explain to us the illustration of the weeds in the field.«

37 Jesus said: »He that sows the good seed is the Son of man.

38 »The field is the world the society of mankind. The good seed are the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one.

39 »The enemy that sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age. The reapers are angels.

40 »The weeds are gathered up and burned destroyed with fire. It will be this way at the end of the age.

41 »The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all who stumble others and commit lawlessness.

42 »The angels will cast them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

43 »The righteous will shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that has ears let him hear.

44 »The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. A man found the treasure and hid it again in the field. He is so filled with joy he sells everything he owns and buys the field.

45 »The kingdom of heaven is also like a merchant seeking valuable pearls.

46 »When he found one pearl of great value, he sold all that he had, and bought it.

47 »The kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea. It gathered fish of every kind.

48 »They drew it up on the beach when it was full. They gathered the good into containers and threw away the bad.

49 »It will be that way at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, and separate the wicked from among the righteous.

50 »The wicked will be cast into the furnace of fire where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 »Have you understood all these things?« They said to him: »Yes.«

52 And he said to them: »Every scribe journalistwriter who has been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is like a man that is a householder, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.«

53 After Jesus finished telling these illustrations, he left.

54 He went to his own country and taught in the synagogue. They were astonished and asked where this man got this wisdom and these mighty works.

55 »Is this man the carpenter’s son? Is his mother called Mary? Are his brothers James and Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

56 »Are his sisters all with us? Where did he get all these things?«

57 They resented him. But Jesus responded to them: »A prophet is without honor in his own country, and in his own house.«

58 He did not do many mighty works there because of their lack of faith.