Matthew 13

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

1That same day Jesus left the house. He 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 came that Jesus got into a boat. He sat there, and the 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 with many parables, which are stories that teach. He said, "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:

4"While he was planting, some seed 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:

5"Some seed fell where the ground was rocky. There was little dirt there, so it came up fast."

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

6"Then the sun came up and burned the young plants. They had no roots, so they dried up."

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

7"Some seed fell where thorn bushes grew. The thorns grew up and crowded out the plants."

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

8"But some seed fell on good ground. It grew a crop, a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much."

9Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

9"If you have ears, then listen!"

Note"Who hath ears to hear, let him hear" is an old way of saying "pay close attention."

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

10The disciples, his close followers, came and asked, "Why do you teach the people with stories?"

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 secrets about God's kingdom. They have not been given that."

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.

12"Anyone who has something will be given more, and will have plenty. Anyone who has nothing will lose even that."

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

13"That is why I use stories with them. They look but do not really see. They listen but 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:

14"What the prophet Isaiah said comes true in them. He said, '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.

15"'These people's hearts have grown hard. Their ears hardly hear. They have shut their eyes. If they saw and heard and understood, they would turn back to me. Then I would make them well.'"

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

16"But you are happy people. Your eyes really see, and your ears really 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.

17"I tell you the truth. Many prophets and good people wanted to see what you see. They did not see it. They wanted to hear what you hear. They did not hear it."

18Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

18"So 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.

19"Some people hear the news about God's kingdom but do not understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away what was planted in their 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;

20"The seed on rocky ground is the person who hears the message. He is glad and takes it right away."

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.

21"But he has no roots inside, so he lasts only a little while. When hard times or trouble come because of the message, he quickly gives up."

NoteIn the KJV, "by and by" means right away, not later on.

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.

22"The seed among the thorns is the person who hears the message. But worries about life and the lies money tells crowd the message out. Nothing good grows in him."

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.

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

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 story. "God's kingdom 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.

25"While everyone was asleep, his enemy came. He planted weeds among the wheat and slipped away."

NoteThe KJV word "tares" means weeds that look a lot like wheat while both are growing.

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

26"When the wheat came up and grew 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?

27"The workers came to the owner. They said, 'Sir, you planted good seed. Where did these 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?

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

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

29"He said, 'No. If you pull the weeds, you might pull up the wheat too.'"

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.

30"'Let them both grow until harvest time. Then I will tell the workers to gather the weeds first. They will tie them in bundles to burn. Then they will 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 story. "God's kingdom 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.

32"It is the smallest of all seeds. But it grows bigger than the other garden plants. It becomes a tree, and birds come and rest 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.

33Jesus told them another story. "God's kingdom is like yeast. A woman mixed it into a big batch of flour. Soon the yeast spread through it all."

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

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 crowd in stories. He did not speak to them without using a story.

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 speak in stories. I will tell things kept secret since the world began."

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 crowd away and went into the house. His followers came and said, "Please explain the story about the weeds."

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. That is a name Jesus used for himself."

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

38"The field is the world. The good seed means the people who belong to God's 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.

39"The enemy who plants them is the devil. The harvest is the end of this age. The workers who gather it are angels."

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

40"The weeds are gathered up 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;

41"The Son of Man will send out his angels. They will take out of his kingdom everything that makes people sin. They will take out all who do wrong."

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

42"The angels will throw them into a burning furnace. There will be crying and grinding of teeth there."

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

43"Then good people will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. If you have ears, then 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.

44"God's kingdom is like treasure hidden in a field. A man found it and hid it again. He was so happy that he sold everything he had and bought that field."

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

45"God's kingdom is also 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.

46"He found one pearl worth a lot of money. So he sold everything he had and bought it."

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

47"God's kingdom is also like a net thrown into the sea. It 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.

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

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

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

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

50"They will throw them into the burning furnace. There will be crying and grinding of teeth there."

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.

52He told them, "Every teacher of God's law who learns about God's kingdom is like a homeowner. He brings out both new things and old things from his storeroom."

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

53When Jesus finished telling these stories, 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 went to his hometown. He taught the people in their meeting place, and they were amazed. They asked, "Where did this man get such wisdom and such power?"

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

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

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

56"And 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 would not accept him. But Jesus said, "People honor a prophet everywhere except in his hometown and his own home."

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

58He did not do many miracles there, because the people did not believe.