Matthew 13 :: New English Translation (NET)

Jesus Teaches in Parables

(Mar 4:1–9; Luk 8:4–8 )

Mat 13:1On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake.

Mat 13:2And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while the whole crowd stood on the shore.

Mat 13:3

Mat 13:3He told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow.

Mat 13:4

Mat 13:4And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

Mat 13:5

Mat 13:5Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep.

Mat 13:6

Mat 13:6But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered.

Mat 13:7

Mat 13:7Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them.

Mat 13:8

Mat 13:8But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.

Mat 13:9

Mat 13:9The one who has ears had better listen!"

An Explanation

(Mar 4:10–12; Luk 8:9, 10 )

Mat 13:10

Mat 13:10Then the disciples came to him and said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"

Mat 13:11

Mat 13:11He replied, "You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.

Mat 13:12

Mat 13:12For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

Mat 13:13

Mat 13:13For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand.

Mat 13:14

Mat 13:14And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: 'You will listen carefully yet will never understand, you will look closely yet will never comprehend.

Mat 13:15

Mat 13:15For the heart of this people has become dull; they are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'

Mat 13:16

Mat 13:16"But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear.

Mat 13:17

Mat 13:17For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

The Sower Explained

(Mar 4:13–20; Luk 8:11–15 )

Mat 13:18

Mat 13:18"So listen to the parable of the sower:

Mat 13:19

Mat 13:19When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; this is the seed sown along the path.

Mat 13:20

Mat 13:20The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.

Mat 13:21

Mat 13:21But he has no root in himself and does not endure; when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.

Mat 13:22

Mat 13:22The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth choke the word, so it produces nothing.

Mat 13:23

Mat 13:23But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown."

Tares among Wheat

Mat 13:24

Mat 13:24He presented them with another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field.

Mat 13:25

Mat 13:25But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.

Mat 13:26

Mat 13:26When the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.

Mat 13:27

Mat 13:27So the slaves of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?'

Mat 13:28

Mat 13:28He said, 'An enemy has done this.' So the slaves replied, 'Do you want us to go and gather them?'

Mat 13:29

Mat 13:29But he said, 'No, since in gathering the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them.

Mat 13:30

Mat 13:30Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I will tell the reapers, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn."'"

The Mustard Seed

(Mar 4:30–32; Luk 13:18, 19 )

Mat 13:31

Mat 13:31He gave them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

Mat 13:32

Mat 13:32It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the wild birds come and nest in its branches."

The Leaven

(Luk 13:20, 21 )

Mat 13:33

Mat 13:33He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen."

Mat 13:34

Mat 13:34Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; he did not speak to them without a parable.

Mat 13:35

Mat 13:35This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world."

The Tares Explained

Mat 13:36

Mat 13:36Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

Mat 13:37

Mat 13:37He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.

Mat 13:38

Mat 13:38The field is the world and the good seed are the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one,

Mat 13:39

Mat 13:39and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

Mat 13:40

Mat 13:40As the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age.

Mat 13:41

Mat 13:41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers.

Mat 13:42

Mat 13:42They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 13:43

Mat 13:43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears had better listen!

Hidden Treasure

Mat 13:44

Mat 13:44"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.

A Costly Pearl

Mat 13:45

Mat 13:45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.

Mat 13:46

Mat 13:46When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.

A Dragnet

Mat 13:47

Mat 13:47"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish.

Mat 13:48

Mat 13:48When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away.

Mat 13:49

Mat 13:49It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous

Mat 13:50

Mat 13:50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 13:51

Mat 13:51"Have you understood all these things?" They replied, "Yes."

Mat 13:52

Mat 13:52Then he said to them, "Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old."

Jesus Revisits Nazareth

(Mar 6:1–6; Luk 4:16–30 )

Mat 13:53

Mat 13:53Now when Jesus finished these parables, he moved on from there.

Mat 13:54

Mat 13:54Then he came to his hometown and began to teach the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, "Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?

Mat 13:55

Mat 13:55Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother named Mary? And aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

Mat 13:56

Mat 13:56And aren't all his sisters here with us? Where did he get all this?"

Mat 13:57

Mat 13:57And so they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own house."

Mat 13:58

Mat 13:58And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

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