Matthew 13 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

The Parable of the Sower

Parables About the Kingdom of Heaven

(Mark 4:1–9; Luke 8:4–8 )

Mat 13:1On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.

Mat 13:2And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

Mat 13:3

Mat 13:3Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow.

Mat 13:4

Mat 13:4“And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.

Mat 13:5

Mat 13:5“Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.

Mat 13:6

Mat 13:6“But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.

Mat 13:7

Mat 13:7“And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.

Mat 13:8

Mat 13:8“But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Mat 13:9

Mat 13:9“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Purpose of Parables

(Mark 4:10–12; Luke 8:9, 10 )

Mat 13:10

Mat 13:10And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

Mat 13:11

Mat 13:11He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

Mat 13:12

Mat 13:12“For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

Mat 13:13

Mat 13:13“Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Mat 13:14

Mat 13:14“And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;

Mat 13:15

Mat 13:15For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should[fn] heal them.’[fn]

Mat 13:16

Mat 13:16“But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;

Mat 13:17

Mat 13:17“for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

(Mark 4:13–20; Luke 8:11–15 )

Mat 13:18

Mat 13:18“Therefore hear the parable of the sower:

Mat 13:19

Mat 13:19“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

Mat 13:20

Mat 13:20“But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

Mat 13:21

Mat 13:21“yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

Mat 13:22

Mat 13:22“Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

Mat 13:23

Mat 13:23“But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

Mat 13:24

Mat 13:24Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;

Mat 13:25

Mat 13:25“but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.

Mat 13:26

Mat 13:26“But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.

Mat 13:27

Mat 13:27“So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’

Mat 13:28

Mat 13:28“He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’

Mat 13:29

Mat 13:29“But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.

Mat 13:30

Mat 13:30‘Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

(Mark 4:30–32; Luke 13:18, 19 )

Mat 13:31

Mat 13:31Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,

Mat 13:32

Mat 13:32“which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven

(Luke 13:20, 21 )

Mat 13:33

Mat 13:33Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures[fn] of meal till it was all leavened.”

Prophecy and the Parables

Mat 13:34

Mat 13:34All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them,

Mat 13:35

Mat 13:35that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

“I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”[fn]

The Parable of the Tares Explained

Mat 13:36

Mat 13:36Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

Mat 13:37

Mat 13:37He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

Mat 13:38

Mat 13:38“The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.

Mat 13:39

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

Mat 13:40

Mat 13:40“Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.

Mat 13:41

Mat 13:41“The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,

Mat 13:42

Mat 13:42“and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 13:43

Mat 13:43“Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

Mat 13:44

Mat 13:44“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

Mat 13:45

Mat 13:45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,

Mat 13:46

Mat 13:46“who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Dragnet

Mat 13:47

Mat 13:47“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind,

Mat 13:48

Mat 13:48“which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.

Mat 13:49

Mat 13:49“So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just,

Mat 13:50

Mat 13:50“and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Mat 13:51

Mat 13:51Jesus said to them,[fn] “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”[fn]

Mat 13:52

Mat 13:52Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning[fn] the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

(Mark 6:1–6; Luke 4:16–30 )

Mat 13:53

Mat 13:53Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.

Mat 13:54

Mat 13:54When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?

Mat 13:55

Mat 13:55“Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses,[fn] Simon, and Judas?

Mat 13:56

Mat 13:56“And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?”

Mat 13:57

Mat 13:57So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.”

Mat 13:58

Mat 13:58Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NKJV Footnotes

(13:15)

NU-Text and M-Text read would.

(13:15)

Isaiah 6:9, 10

(13:33)

Greek sata, approximately two pecks in all

(13:35)

Psalm 78:2

(13:51)

NU-Text omits Jesus said to them.

(13:51)

NU-Text omits Lord.

(13:52)

Or for

(13:55)

NU-Text reads Joseph.

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For more information on this translation, see the NKJV Preface.