Parable of the Sower
1   The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
2   And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3   And he spoke many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4   And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5   Some fell upon stony places, where they had  not  much  earth:  and  immediately  they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6   And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
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 hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9  Who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Why Parables Are Used
10   And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why do you speak unto them in parables?
11   He 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.
12   For whosoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever  has  not,  from  him  shall  be  taken away even what he has.
13   Therefore speak I to them in parables: because seeing they see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14   And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, who said, By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive:
15   For this people's heart has 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 unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them.

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower
18   Hear  you  therefore  the  parable  of  the sower.
19   When any one hears the word of the kingdom,  and  understands  it  not,  then comes the wicked one, and catches 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 in stony places, the same is he that hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it;
21   Yet has he not root in himself, but endures for a while: for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he is offended.
22   He also that received seed among the thorns is he that hears the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
23   But he that received seed in the good ground is he that hears the word, and understands it; who also bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Parable of the Tares
24   Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man who sowed good seed in his field:
25   But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed  tares  among  the  wheat,  and  went  his way.
26   But when the plant was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27   So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? from where then has it tares?
28   He said unto them, An enemy has done this. The servants said unto him, Will you then that we go and gather them up?
29   But he said, Nay; lest while you gather up the tares, you 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 you together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

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

Parable of the Leaven
33   Another parable spoke 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.
34   All these things spoke Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spoke he not unto 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.

The Parable of the Tares Explained
36   Then 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.
37   He answered and said unto them, He that sows 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 which 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 forth as the sun  in  the  kingdom  of their Father. Who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44   Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field;  which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.

Parable of the Pearl of Great Price
45   Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking fine pearls:
46   Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

Parable of the Net
47   Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
48   Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
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 said unto them, Have you understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
52   Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe who is instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.

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