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¹ The same day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the sea side.² And great multitudes were gathered to him, so that he went into a boat, and sat down; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.³ And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;⁴ And when he sowed, some [seeds] fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them:⁵ Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:⁶ And when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had not root, they withered.⁷ And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:⁸ But others fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some thirty-fold.⁹ Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.¹⁰ And the disciples came, and said to him, Why speakest thou to them in parables?¹¹ He answered and said to them, Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.¹² For whoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.¹⁴ And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:¹⁵ For this people's heart is become 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.¹⁶ But blessed [are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.¹⁷ For verily I say to you, That many prophets and righteous [men] have desired to see [the things] which ye see, and have not seen [them]; and to hear [the things] which ye hear, and have not heard [them].¹⁸ Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.¹⁹ When 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 who received seed by the way side.²⁰ But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and immediately with joy receiveth it;²¹ Yet he hath not root in himself, but endureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, forthwith he is offended.²² He 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.²³ But he that receiveth seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth [it]; who also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundred fold, some sixty, some thirty.

²⁴ Another parable he proposed to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field:²⁵ But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and departed.²⁶ But when the blade had sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.²⁷ So the servants of the householder came and said to him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?²⁸ He said to them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said to him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them?²⁹ But he said, No; lest while ye gather the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.³¹ Another parable he proposed to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard-seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:³² Which 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 on its branches.³³ Another parable he spoke to them; The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.³⁴ All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable he spoke not to them:³⁵ That 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.³⁶ Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came to him, saying, Declare to us the parable of the tares of the field.³⁷ He answered and said to them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;³⁸ The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [one];³⁹ The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.⁴⁰ As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.⁴¹ The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them who do iniquity;⁴² And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.⁴³ Then shall the righteous shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

⁴⁴ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hid in a field; which, when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.⁴⁵ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking goodly pearls:⁴⁶ Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.⁴⁷ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:⁴⁸ Which, when it was full, they drew to the shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast away the bad.⁴⁹ So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,⁵⁰ And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.⁵¹ Jesus saith to them, Have ye understood all these things? They say to him, Yes, Lord.⁵² Then said he to them, Therefore every scribe [who is] instructed to the kingdom of heaven, is like a man [that is] a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure [things] new and old.

⁵³ And it came to pass, [that] when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.⁵⁴ And when he had come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this [man] this wisdom, and [these] mighty works?⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?⁵⁶ And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this [man] all these things?⁵⁷ And they were offended in him. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.⁵⁸ And he did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.