The Parable of the Sower
(Mark 4:1–9; Luke 8:4–8)

1On that day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the sea. 2And many multitudes came together to him, so that he went into a ship and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

3And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying: Behold, the sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way: and the birds came and ate them up. 5Others fell on stony places, where they had not much earth; and they immediately sprung up, because they had no depth of earth. 6But when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7Others fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked them. 8Others fell upon good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty. 9He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

The Purpose of Jesus’ Parables
(Mark 4:10–12; Luke 8:9–10)

10And the disciples came and said to him: "Why dost thou speak to them in parables? 11He 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. 12For whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but whoever has not, even that which he has shall be taken from him. 13For this reason I speak to them in parables; because when they see, they see not; and when they hear, they hear not, nor do they understand.

14And in them is fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah, which says: You shall surely hear, and you will not understand; and you shall surely see, and you will not perceive.

15For the heart of this people has become fat; and with their ears they hear heavily; and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should turn to me, and I should give them health.

16But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. 17For verily I say to you, Many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear.

The Parable of the Sower Explained
(Mark 4:13–20; Luke 8:11–15)

18Hear you, therefore, the parable of the sower. 19When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, the wicked one comes and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he that received seed by the way side. 20He that received seed on the stony places is he that hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy. 21Yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while; and when affliction or persecution arises on account of the word, he immediately takes offense. 22He that received seed among the thorns, is he that hears the word; and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23But he that received seed on the good ground, is he that hears the word and understands it; who also produces fruit, and yields, one a hundred; another, sixty; another, thirty.

The Parable of the Weeds

24Another parable he laid before them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seed in his field. 25But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. 26But when the blade sprung up, and produced fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27And the servants of the master of the house came, and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Whence, then, has it tares? 28He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Is it your will, then, that we go and gather them up? 29But he said, No; lest while you are gathering the tares, you root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together till the harvest, and in time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares, and bind them into bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my granary.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed
(Mark 4:30–34; Luke 13:18–19)

31Another parable he laid before them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard, that a man took and sowed in his field. 32It is, indeed, the least of all seeds; but when it is grown it is the largest of garden-plants, and be comes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and roost in its branches.

The Parable of the Leaven
(Luke 13:20–21)

33He spoke another parable to them: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till the whole was leavened.

I Will Open My Mouth in Parables

34All these things Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them;

35that the word might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things that have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36Then Jesus left the multitudes, and went into the house. And his disciples came to him and said: Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field. 37He answered and said to them: He that sows the good seed is the Son of man; 38the field is the world; the good seed are the sons of the kingdom; the tares are the sons of the Wicked One; 39the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40As, therefore, the tares are collected and burned in fire, so shall it be in the end of this age. 41The Son of man will send forth his angels, and collect out of his kingdom all things that offend, and those who work iniquity, 42and cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

The Parables of the Treasure and the Pearl

44Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hid in a field, which, when a man finds it, he hides; and for the joy it gives, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.

45Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking goodly pearls. 46When he finds one pearl of great value, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys it.

The Parable of the Net

47Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that is cast into the sea, and that gathers of every kind: 48when it is full, they draw it to the shore; and sitting down, they collect the good into vessels, but throw the bad away. 49So shall it be in the end of the age: the angels shall come forth and separate the wicked from among the just, 50and cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51Jesus said to them: Have you understood all these things? They said to him: Yes, Lord. 52He said to them: Therefore, every scribe that is trained for the kingdom of heaven, is like the master of a house, who brings out of his treasury things new and old.

The Rejection at Nazareth
(Mark 6:1–6; Luke 4:16–30)

53And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from that place. 54And he came into his own country, and taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said: Whence has this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? 55Is not this the son of the carpenter? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brothers, James and Joses and Simon and Judas? 56And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence, then, has this man all these things? 57And they found in him occasion for offense. But Jesus said to them: A prophet is not without honor, unless it be in his own country and in his own house. 58And he did not many mighty works there, on account of their unbelief.