The Parable of the Sower
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That same day Jesus went out of the house 1and sat beside the sea.
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And great crowds gathered about him, 2so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.
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And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
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Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,
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Other seeds fell among 7thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
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Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some 8a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
The Purpose of the Parables
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Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"
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And he answered them, 10"To you it has been given to know 11the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
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12For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, 13even what he has will be taken away.
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This is why I speak to them in parables, because 14seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, 15nor do they understand.
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Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: 16"'You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.
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For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears 17they can barely hear, and 18their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and 19understand with their heart and 20turn, and I would heal them.'
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But 21blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
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22For truly, I say to you, 23many 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
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24"Hear then the parable of the sower:
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When anyone hears the word of 25the kingdom and 26does not understand it, 27the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
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As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately 28receives it with joy,
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yet he has no root in himself, but 29endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately 30he falls away.b
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As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but 31the cares of 32the world and 33the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
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As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and 34understands it. He indeed 35bears fruit and yields, in one case 36a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."
The Parable of the Weeds
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He put another parable before them, saying, 37"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field,
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but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weedsc among the wheat and went away.
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So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.
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And the servantsd 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?'
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He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?'
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But he said, 38'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.
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Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, 39Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
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He put another parable before them, saying, 40"The kingdom of heaven is like 41a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.
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It 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."
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He told them another parable. 42"The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in 43three measures of flour, till it was 44all leavened."
Prophecy and Parables
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45All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable.
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This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:e46"I will open my mouth in parables; 47I will utter what has been hidden 48since the foundation of the world."
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
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Then he left the crowds and went into 49the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, 50"Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field."
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He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
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The field is the world, and the good seed is 51the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are 52the sons of the evil one,
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and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. 53The harvest is 54the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.
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57The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all 58causes of sin and 59all law-breakers,
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60and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place 61there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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Then 62the righteous will shine like the sun 63in the kingdom of their Father. 64He who has ears, let him hear.
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
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"The kingdom of heaven 65is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy 66he goes and sells all that he has and 67buys that field.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value
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"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
The Parable of the Net
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"Again, the kingdom of heaven is 71like a net that was thrown into the sea and 72gathered fish of every kind.
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When it was full, 73men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.
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So it will be at 74the close of the age. The angels will come out and 75separate the evil from the righteous
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76and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place 77there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
New and Old Treasures
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78"Have you understood all these things?" They said to him, "Yes."
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And he said to them, "Therefore every 79scribe 80who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who 81brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
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And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there,
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82and coming to 83his hometown 84he taught them in their synagogue, so that 85they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?
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86Is not this 87the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not 88his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
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And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?"
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And 89they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, 90"A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household."
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And he did not do many mighty works there, 91because of their unbelief.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)