The Gospel According to St. Matthew

⭑ Literal Standard Version :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 13 -

(Mark 4:1–9; Luke 8:4–8)

And in that day Jesus, having gone forth from the house, was sitting by the sea,

and gathered together to Him were many multitudes, so that He having gone into the boat sat down, and all the multitude on the beach stood,

and He spoke to them many things in allegories, saying, “Behold, the sower went forth to sow,

and in his sowing, some indeed fell by the way, and the birds having come, devoured them,

and others fell on the rocky places where they did not have much earth, and immediately they sprang forth, through having no depth of earth,

and the sun having risen they were scorched, and through having no root, they withered,

and others fell on the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them,

and others fell on the good ground, and were giving fruit, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.

He who is having ears to hear—let him hear.”

The Purpose of Jesus’ Parables

(Isaiah 6:1–13; Mark 4:10–12; Luke 8:9–10)

And the disciples having come near, said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in allegories?”

And He answering said to them that, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of the heavens, and to these it has not been given,

for whoever has, it will be given to him, and he will have overabundance, and whoever has not, even that which he has will be taken from him.

Because of this, in allegories I speak to them, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand,

and fulfilled on them is the prophecy of Isaiah that says, With hearing you will hear, and you will not understand, and seeing you will see, and you will not perceive,

for the heart of this people was made obtuse, and with the ears they barely heard, and they closed their eyes, lest they might see with the eyes, and might hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and turn back, and I might heal them.

And blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear,

for truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see that which you look on, and they did not see, and to hear that which you hear, and they did not hear.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

(Mark 4:13–20; Luke 8:11–15)

You, therefore, hear the allegory of the sower:

Everyone hearing the word of the kingdom, and not understanding—the evil one comes, and snatches that which has been sown in his heart; this is that sown by the way.

And that sown on the rocky places, this is he who is hearing the word, and immediately with joy is receiving it,

and he has no root in himself, but is temporary, and persecution or tribulation having happened because of the word, immediately he is stumbled.

And that sown toward the thorns, this is he who is hearing the word, and the anxiety of this age, and the deceitfulness of the riches, chokes the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

And that sown on the good ground: this is he who is hearing the word, and is understanding, who indeed bears fruit, and makes, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

(Ezekiel 17:1–10)

Another allegory He set before them, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens was likened to a man sowing good seed in his field,

and while men are sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the midst of the wheat, and went away,

and when the herb sprang up, and yielded fruit, then appeared also the darnel.

And the servants of the householder, having come near, said to him, Lord, did you not sow good seed in your field? From where then does it have the darnel?

And he says to them, A man, an enemy, did this; and the servants said to him, Will you, then, [that] having gone away we may gather it up?

And he said, No, lest—gathering up the darnel—you root up with it the wheat;

permit both to grow together until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the darnel, and bind it in bundles, to burn it, and the wheat gather up into my storehouse.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

(Mark 4:30–34; Luke 13:18–19)

Another allegory He set before them, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens is like to a grain of mustard, which a man having taken, sowed in his field,

which less, indeed, is than all the seeds, but when it may be grown, is greatest of the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and rest in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven

(Luke 13:20–21)

Another allegory He spoke to them: “The kingdom of the heavens is like to leaven, which a woman having taken, hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened.”

I Will Open My Mouth in Parables

(Psalm 78:1–72)

All these things Jesus spoke in allegories to the multitudes, and without an allegory He was not speaking to them,

that it might be fulfilled that was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open in allegories My mouth, || I will utter things having been hidden from the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

(Zephaniah 1:1–6)

Then having let away the multitudes, Jesus came into the house, and His disciples came near to Him, saying, “Explain to us the allegory of the darnel of the field.”

And He answering said to them, “He who is sowing the good seed is the Son of Man,

and the field is the world, and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom, and the darnel are the sons of the evil one,

and the enemy who sowed them is the Devil, and the harvest is [the] full end of the age, and the reapers are messengers.

As, then, the darnel is gathered up, and is burned with fire, so will it be in the full end of this age;

the Son of Man will send forth His messengers, and they will gather up out of His kingdom all the stumbling-blocks, and those doing the lawlessness,

and will cast them into the furnace of the fire; there will be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.

Then will the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who is having ears to hear—let him hear.

The Parables of the Treasure and the Pearl

Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like to treasure hid in the field, which a man having found, hid, and from his joy goes, and all, as much as he has, he sells, and buys that field.

Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like to a man, a merchant, seeking good pearls,

who having found one pearl of great price, having gone away, has sold all, as much as he had, and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like to a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered together of every kind,

which, when it was filled, having drawn up again on the beach, and having sat down, they gathered the good into vessels, and the bad they cast out,

so will it be in the full end of the age, the messengers will come forth and separate the evil out of the midst of the righteous,

and will cast them into the furnace of the fire; there will be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.”

Jesus says to them, “Did you understand all these?” They say to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

And He said to them, “Because of this, every scribe having been discipled in regard to the kingdom of the heavens is like to a man, a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

The Rejection at Nazareth

(Mark 6:1–6; Luke 4:16–30)

And it came to pass, when Jesus finished these allegories, He removed from there,

and having come to His own country, He was teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and were saying, “From where to this One this wisdom and the mighty works?

Is this not the carpenter’s Son? Is His mother not called Mary, and His brothers James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

And His sisters—are they not all with us? From where, then, to this One all these?”

And they were stumbled at Him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, and in his own house”:

and He did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

(Mark 4:1–9; Luke 8:4–8)

On that day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the seaside.

Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat and sat; and all the multitude stood on the beach.

He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow.

As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them.

Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.

When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away.

Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them.

Others fell on good soil and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of Jesus’ Parables

(Isaiah 6:1–13; Mark 4:10–12; Luke 8:9–10)

The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”

He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.

For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has.

Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand.

In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive;

for this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and would turn again, and I would heal them.’ (a)

“But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.

For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

(Mark 4:13–20; Luke 8:11–15)

“Hear, then, the parable of the farmer.

When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside.

What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word and immediately with joy receives it;

yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit and produces, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

(Ezekiel 17:1–10)

He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field,

but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds (b) also among the wheat, and went away.

But when the blade sprang up and produced grain, then the darnel weeds appeared also.

The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’

“He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’

“But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them.

Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

(Mark 4:30–34; Luke 13:18–19)

He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took, and sowed in his field,

which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven

(Luke 13:20–21)

He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast which a woman took and hid in three measures (c) of meal, until it was all leavened.”

I Will Open My Mouth in Parables

(Psalm 78:1–72)

Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them,

that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.”(d)

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

(Zephaniah 1:1–6)

Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.”

He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,

the field is the world, the good seeds are the children of the Kingdom, and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one.

The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age.

The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling and those who do iniquity,

and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

The Parables of the Treasure and the Pearl

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls,

who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some fish of every kind,

which, when it was filled, fishermen drew up on the beach. They sat down and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away.

So it will be in the end of the world. (e) The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous,

and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They answered him, “Yes, Lord.”

He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things.”

The Rejection at Nazareth

(Mark 6:1–6; Luke 4:16–30)

When Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there.

Coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?

Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?(f)

Aren’t all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?”

They were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house.”

He didn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Footnotes

(a)13:15 ℘ Isaiah 6:9-10

(b)13:25 darnel is a weed grass (probably bearded darnel or lolium temulentum) that looks very much like wheat until it is mature, when the difference becomes very apparent.

(d)13:35 ℘ Psalms 78:2

(e)13:49 or, end of the age.

(f)13:55 or, Judah