1On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2And large crowds gathered close around him, so that he got into a boat to sit down, and all the crowd was standing on the shore. 3And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow, 4and while he was sowing, ˻some seed˼ fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5And other seed fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once because it did not have any depth of soil. 6But when the sun rose it was scorched, and because it did not have enough root, it withered. 7And other seed fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it. 8But other seed fell on the good soil and produced grain, this one a hundred times as much and this one sixty and this one thirty. 9The one who has ears, let him hear!” 10And the disciples came up and said to him, “˻Why˼ do you speak to them in parables?” 11And he answered and said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to those people it has not been granted. 12For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13For this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand, 14and with reference to them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says,“˻You will listen carefully˼ and will never understand,and ˻you will look closely˼ and will never perceive. 15For the heart of this people has become dull,and with their ears they hear with difficulty,and they have shut their eyes,so that they would not see with their eyesand hear with their earsand understand with their heartand turn, and I would heal them.” 16But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17For truly I say to you that many 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! 18“You, therefore, listen to the parable of the sower: 19When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown on the side of the path. 20And what was sown on the rocky ground—this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21But he does not have a root in himself, but ˻lasts only a little while˼, and when affliction or persecution happens because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22And what was sown into the thorn plants—this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unproductive. 23But what was sown on the good soil—this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, this one a hundred times as much, and this one sixty, and this one thirty.” 24He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while his people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the midst of the wheat and went away. 26So when the ˻wheat˼ sprouted and yielded grain, then the darnel appeared also. 27So the slaves 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 darnel?’ 28And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So the slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29But he said, “No, lest when you gather the darnel you uproot the wheat together with it. 30Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the season of the harvest I will tell the reapers, “First gather the darnel and tie it into bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my storehouse.” ’” 31He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32˻It˼ is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is larger than the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.” 33He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and put into three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.” 34Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables, and he was saying nothing to them without a parable, 35in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, who said,“I will open my mouth in parables;I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.” 36Then he left the crowds and came into the house, and his disciples came to him saying, “Explain the parable of the darnel in the field to us.” 37So he answered and said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38and the field is the world. And the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom, but the darnel are the sons of the evil one. 39And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40Thus just as the darnel is gathered and burned up with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and those who do lawless deeds, 42and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth! 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears, let him hear! 44“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, that a man found and concealed, and in his joy he goes and sells everything that he has and buys that field. 45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46And when he found one very valuable pearl, he went and sold everything that he possessed and purchased it. 47“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind, 48which when it was filled they pulled to shore and sat down and collected the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw out. 49Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the evil from among the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth! 51“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52And he said to them, “For this reason every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of the house who brings out of his storeroom new things and old things.” 53And it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables he went away from there. 54And he came to his hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were amazed and said, “From where did this man get this wisdom and these miracles? 55Is not this one the son of the carpenter? Is not his mother called Mary and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56And are not all his sisters with us? From where then did this man get all these things?” 57And they were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and in his own household.” 58And he did not perform many miracles in that place because of their unbelief.