1 The same day went Iesus out of the house, and sate by the sea side. 2 And great multitudes resorted vnto him, so that he went into a ship, and sate downe: and the whole multitude stoode on the shore. 3 Then he spake many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sowe. 4 And as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the foules came and deuoured them vp. 5 And some fell vpon stony grounde, where they had not much earth, and anon they sprong vp, because they had no depth of earth. 6 And when the sunne was vp, they were parched, and for lacke of rooting, withered away. 7 And some fell among thornes, and the thornes sprong vp, and choked them. 8 Some againe fel in good ground, and brought forth fruite, one corne an hundreth folde, some sixtie folde, and another thirtie folde. 9 He that hath eares to heare, let him heare. 10 Then the disciples came, and said to him, Why speakest thou to them in parables? 11 And he answered, and said vnto them, Because it is giuen vnto you, to know the secretes of the kingdome of heauen, but to the it is not giue. 12 For whosoeuer hath, to him shalbe giuen, and he shall haue abundance: but whosoeuer hath not, from him shalbe taken away, euen that he hath. 13 Therefore speake I to them in parables, because they seeing, doe not see: and hearing, they heare not, neither vnderstand. 14 So in them is fulfilled the prophecie of Esaias, which prophecie saieth, By hearing, ye shall heare, and shall not vnderstand, and seeing, ye shall see, and shall not perceiue. 15 For this peoples heart is waxed fat, and their eares are dull of hearing, and with their eyes they haue winked, lest they should see with their eyes, and heare with their eares, and should vnderstand with their hearts, and should returne, that I might heale them. 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your eares, for they heare. 17 For verely I say vnto you, that many Prophets, and righteous men haue desired to see those things which ye see, and haue not seene them, and to heare those things which ye heare, and haue not heard them. 18 Heare ye therefore ye parable of ye sower. 19 Whensoeuer any man heareth the woorde of that kingdome, and vnderstandeth it not, that euil one commeth, and catcheth away that which was sowen in his heart: and this is he which hath receiued the seede by the way side. 20 And hee that receiued seede in the stonie grounde, is he which heareth the woorde, and incontinently with ioy receiueth it, 21 Yet hath he no roote in himselfe, and dureth but a season: for assoone as tribulation or persecution commeth because of the woorde, by and by he is offended. 22 And hee that receiued the seede among thornes, is hee that heareth the woorde: but the care of this worlde, and the deceitfulnesse of riches choke the word, and he is made vnfruitfull. 23 But he that receiued the seede in the good ground, is he that heareth the worde, and vnderstandeth it, which also beareth fruite, and bringeth foorth, some an hundreth folde, some sixtie folde, and some thirtie folde. 24 Another parable put hee foorth vnto them, saying, The kingdome of heauen is like vnto a man which sowed good seede in his fielde. 25 But while men slept, there came his enemie, and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his waie. 26 And when the blade was sprong vp, and brought forth fruite, then appeared the tares also. 27 Then came the seruaunts of the housholder, and sayd vnto him, Master, sowedst not thou good seede in thy fielde? from whence then hath it tares? 28 And hee said to them, Some enuious man hath done this. Then the seruants saide vnto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them vp? 29 But he saide, Nay, lest while yee goe about to gather the tares, yee plucke vp also with them the wheat. 30 Let both growe together vntill the haruest, and in time of haruest I will say to the reapers, Gather yee first the tares, and binde them in sheaues to burne them: but gather the wheate into my barne. 31 Another parable he put foorth vnto them, saying, The kingdome of heauen is like vnto a graine of mustard seede, which a man taketh and soweth in his fielde: 32 Which in deede is the least of all seedes: but when it is growen, it is the greatest among herbes, and it is a tree, so that the birdes of heauen come and builde in the branches thereof. 33 Another parable spake hee to them, The kingdome of heauen is like vnto leauen, which a woman taketh and hideth in three pecks of meale, till all be leauened. 34 All these thinges spake Iesus vnto the multitude in parables, and without parables spake he not to them, 35 That it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables, and will vtter the thinges which haue beene kept secrete from the foundation of the worlde. 36 Then sent Iesus the multitude away, and went into the house. And his disciples came vnto him, saying, Declare vnto vs the parable of the tares of that fielde. 37 Then answered he, and saide to them, He that soweth the good seede, is the Sonne of man. 38 And the field is the worlde, and the good seede are the children of the kingdome, and the tares are the children of that wicked one. 39 And the enemie that soweth them, is the deuill, and the haruest is the end of the worlde, and the reapers be the Angels. 40 As then the tares are gathered and burned in ye fire, so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Sonne of man shall send forth his Angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which doe iniquitie, 42 And shall cast them into a fornace of fire. There shalbe wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the iust men shine as ye sunne in the kingdome of their Father. Hee that hath eares to heare, let him heare. 44 Againe, the kingdom of heauen is like vnto a treasure hid in ye field, which when a man hath found, he hideth it, and for ioy thereof departeth and selleth all that he hath, and buieth that field. 45 Againe, the kingdome of heauen is like to a marchant man, that seeketh good pearles, 46 Who hauing found a pearle of great price, went and solde all that he had, and bought it. 47 Againe, the kingdom of heauen is like vnto a drawe net cast into the sea, that gathereth of all kindes of things. 48 Which, when it is full, men draw to lande, and sit and gather the good into vessels, and cast the bad away. 49 So shall it be at the end of the world. The Angels shall goe foorth, and seuer the bad from among the iust, 50 And shall cast them into a fornace of fire: there shalbe wailing, and gnashing of teeth. 51 Iesus saide vnto them, Vnderstand yee all these things? They saide vnto him, Yea, Lord. 52 Then sayd hee vnto them, Therefore euery Scribe which is taught vnto the kingdome of heauen, is like vnto an householder, which bringeth foorth out of his treasure things both newe and olde. 53 And it came to passe, that when Iesus had ended these parables, he departed thence, 54 And came into his owne countrey, and taught them in their Synagogue, so that they were astonied, and saide, Whence commeth this wisdome and great woorkes vnto this man? 55 Is not this the carpenters sonne? Is not his mother called Marie, and his brethren Iames and Ioses, and Simon and Iudas? 56 And are not his sisters all with vs? Whence then hath he all these things? 57 And they were offended with him. Then Iesus said to them, A Prophet is not without honour, saue in his owne countrey, and in his owne house. 58 And he did not many great woorkes there, for their vnbeliefes sake.
The Parable of the Sower
(Mark 4.1-9Luke 8.4-8)1 That same day Jesus left the house and went to the lakeside, where he sat down to teach. 2 The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it, while the crowd stood on the shore. 3 He used parables to tell them many things.
“Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. 4 As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. 6 But when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. 7 Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants bore grain: some had one hundred grains, others sixty, and others thirty.”
9 And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”
The Purpose of the Parables
(Mark 4.10-12Luke 8.9Luke 10)10 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”
11 Jesus answered, “The knowledge about the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 For the person who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but the person who has nothing will have taken away from him even the little he has. 13 The reason I use parables in talking to them is that they look, but do not see, and they listen, but do not hear or understand. 14 So the prophecy of Isaiah applies to them:
‘This people will listen and listen, but not understand;
they will look and look, but not see,
15 because their minds are dull,
and they have stopped up their ears
and have closed their eyes.
Otherwise, their eyes would see,
their ears would hear,
their minds would understand,
and they would turn to me, says God,
and I would heal them.’
16 “As for you, how fortunate you are! Your eyes see and your ears hear. 17 I assure you that many prophets and many of God's people wanted very much to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.
Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower
(Mark 4.13-20Luke 8.11-15)18 “Listen, then, and learn what the parable of the sower means. 19 Those who hear the message about the Kingdom but do not understand it are like the seeds that fell along the path. The Evil One comes and snatches away what was sown in them. 20 The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who receive the message gladly as soon as they hear it. 21 But it does not sink deep into them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once. 22 The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear the message; but the worries about this life and the love for riches choke the message, and they don't bear fruit. 23 And the seeds sown in the good soil stand for those who hear the message and understand it: they bear fruit, some as much as one hundred, others sixty, and others thirty.”
The Parable of the Weeds
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field. 25 One night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 When the plants grew and the heads of grain began to form, then the weeds showed up. 27 The man's servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, it was good seed you sowed in your field; where did the weeds come from?’ 28 ‘It was some enemy who did this,’ he answered. ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ they asked him. 29 ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because as you gather the weeds you might pull up some of the wheat along with them. 30 Let the wheat and the weeds both grow together until harvest. Then I will tell the harvest workers to pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them, and then to gather in the wheat and put it in my barn.’”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
(Mark 4.30-32Luke 13.18Luke 19)31 Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man takes a mustard seed and sows it in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up, it is the biggest of all plants. It becomes a tree, so that birds come and make their nests in its branches.”
The Parable of the Yeast
(Luke 13.20Luke 21)33 Jesus told them still another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A woman takes some yeast and mixes it with a bushel of flour until the whole batch of dough rises.”
Jesus' Use of Parables
(Mark 4.33Mark 34)34 Jesus used parables to tell all these things to the crowds; he would not say a thing to them without using a parable. 35 He did this to make come true what the prophet had said,
“I will use parables when I speak to them;
I will tell them things unknown since the creation of the world.”
Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds
36 When Jesus had left the crowd and gone indoors, his disciples came to him and said, “Tell us what the parable about the weeds in the field means.”
37 Jesus answered, “The man who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world; the good seed is the people who belong to the Kingdom; the weeds are the people who belong to the Evil One; 39 and the enemy who sowed the weeds is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvest workers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered up and burned in the fire, so the same thing will happen at the end of the age: 41 the Son of Man will send out his angels to gather up out of his Kingdom all those who cause people to sin and all others who do evil things, 42 and they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will cry and gnash their teeth. 43 Then God's people will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Listen, then, if you have ears!
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man happens to find a treasure hidden in a field. He covers it up again, and is so happy that he goes and sells everything he has, and then goes back and buys that field.
The Parable of the Pearl
45 “Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man is looking for fine pearls, 46 and when he finds one that is unusually fine, he goes and sells everything he has, and buys that pearl.
The Parable of the Net
47 “Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. Some fishermen throw their net out in the lake and catch all kinds of fish. 48 When the net is full, they pull it to shore and sit down to divide the fish: the good ones go into the buckets, the worthless ones are thrown away. 49 It will be like this at the end of the age: the angels will go out and gather up the evil people from among the good 50 and will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will cry and gnash their teeth.
New Truths and Old
51 “Do you understand these things?” Jesus asked them.
“Yes,” they answered.
52 So he replied, “This means, then, that every teacher of the Law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who takes new and old things out of his storage room.”
Jesus Is Rejected at Nazareth
(Mark 6.1-6Luke 4.16-30)53 When Jesus finished telling these parables, he left that place 54 and went back to his hometown. He taught in the synagogue, and those who heard him were amazed. “Where did he get such wisdom?” they asked. “And what about his miracles? 55 Isn't he the carpenter's son? Isn't Mary his mother, and aren't James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? 56 Aren't all his sisters living here? Where did he get all this?” 57 And so they rejected him.
Jesus said to them, “A prophet is respected everywhere except in his hometown and by his own family.” 58 Because they did not have faith, he did not perform many miracles there.