Matthew

The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

1That same day Jesus left the house and went and sat down beside the sea.

2And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

2So many people crowded around him that he got into a boat and sat there. The whole crowd stood on the shore.

3And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

3He taught them many things using parables. He said, "Listen. A farmer went out to plant seed.

4And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

4As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the path. Birds came and ate it up.

5Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

5Some fell on rocky ground where there was little soil. It sprouted fast because the soil was shallow.

6And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

6But when the sun came up, the young plants were burned. They dried up because they had no roots.

7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

7Some seed fell among thorny weeds. The weeds grew up and choked the young plants.

8But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

8But other seed fell on good soil and grew a crop. Some produced a hundred times as much, some sixty, some thirty.

9Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

9Anyone who has ears should listen."

10And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

10Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"

11He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

11He answered, "You have been given the chance to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. They have not.

12For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

12Whoever has something will be given more, and will have plenty. Whoever has nothing will lose even the little he has.

13Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

13That is why I speak to them in parables. They look, but they do not really see. They listen, but they do not really hear or understand.

14And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

14What the prophet Isaiah said comes true in them: 'You will hear and hear, but never understand. You will look and look, but never see.

15For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

15This people's heart has grown hard. Their ears barely hear, and they have shut their eyes. If they did not, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand in their hearts, and turn back to me, and I would heal them.'

16But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

16But your eyes are blessed, because they see. Your ears are blessed, because they hear.

17For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

17I tell you the truth: many prophets and good people wanted to see what you see, and never saw it. They wanted to hear what you hear, and never heard it.

18Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

18So listen to what the story about the farmer means.

19When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

19Someone hears the message about the kingdom but does not understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away what was planted in his heart. That is the seed on the path.

20But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

20The seed on the rocky ground is the person who hears the message and right away receives it with joy.

21Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

21But he has no roots inside himself, so he lasts only a short time. When trouble or cruel treatment comes because of the message, he quickly gives up.

NoteIn the KJV, "by and by" means right away, not later on. "Offended" here means he stumbles and gives up, not that his feelings are hurt.

22He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

22The seed among the thorny weeds is the person who hears the message. But worry about this life and the lies of money choke the message, and he grows no fruit.

23But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

23The seed on the good soil is the person who hears the message and understands it. He grows a crop: a hundred times as much, or sixty, or thirty."

24Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

24Jesus told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who planted good seed in his field.

25But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

25But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away.

26But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

26When the wheat came up and formed grain, the weeds showed up too.

27So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

27The owner's workers came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you plant good seed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?'

28He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

28He said, 'An enemy did this.' The workers asked, 'Do you want us to go and pull the weeds out?'

29But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

29'No,' he said. 'If you pull up the weeds, you might pull up the wheat with them.

30Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

30Let them both grow until harvest time. Then I will tell the harvest workers: first gather the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned. Then put the wheat in my barn.'"

31Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

31Jesus told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field.

32Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

32It is the smallest of all seeds. But when it grows, it is the largest of the garden plants. It becomes a tree, and birds come and nest in its branches."

33Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

33He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast. A woman mixed it into a large batch of flour until it spread through all the dough."

Note"Three measures of meal" is about fifty pounds of flour, enough bread for a hundred people.

34All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

34Jesus said all these things to the crowds in parables. He told them nothing without using a parable.

35That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

35This made true what the prophet had said: "I will open my mouth in parables. I will say things that have been hidden since the world was made."

36Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

36Then Jesus sent the crowds away and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the story about the weeds in the field."

37He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;

37He answered, "The one who plants the good seed is the Son of Man.

38The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

38The field is the world. The good seed stands for the people who belong to the kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one.

39The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

39The enemy who planted the weeds is the devil. The harvest is the end of this age, and the harvest workers are the angels.

40As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

40The weeds are gathered and burned in the fire. That is how it will be at the end of this age.

41The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

41The Son of Man will send out his angels. They will gather out of his kingdom everything that leads people into sin, and everyone who does evil.

42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

42They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where people will cry and grind their teeth.

Note"Gnashing of teeth" means grinding your teeth together, the way people do in great pain or anger.

43Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

43Then the good people will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Anyone who has ears should listen.

44Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

44The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. A man found it and hid it again. He was so glad that he sold everything he owned and bought that field.

45Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:

45Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader looking for fine pearls.

46Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

46When he found one pearl worth a great deal, he went and sold everything he owned and bought it.

47Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:

47Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea that caught all kinds of fish.

48Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.

48When it was full, the men pulled it up on the shore. They sat down and put the good fish into baskets, but threw the bad ones away.

49So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,

49That is how it will be at the end of this age. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the good ones.

50And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

50They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where people will cry and grind their teeth.

51Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.

51Jesus asked them, "Have you understood all these things?" They said, "Yes, Lord."

52Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

52Then he said, "So every teacher of the law who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house. He brings both new things and old things out of his storeroom."

NoteA "scribe" was a man trained to copy, study, and teach the law of Moses.

53And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.

53When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.

54And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?

54He came to his hometown and taught the people in their meeting place. They were amazed and said, "Where did this man get such wisdom and such powers?

55Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

55Isn't he the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother named Mary? Aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

56And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?

56And aren't all his sisters here with us? So where did this man get all this?"

57And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.

57They refused to accept him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is respected everywhere except in his hometown and in his own family."

58And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

58And he did not do many miracles there, because they would not believe.