| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | New Living Translation |
| 1[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 1Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. |
| 2[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 2A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. |
| 3[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 3He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. |
| 4[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. |
| 5[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. |
| 6[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. |
| 7[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. |
| 8[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! |
| 9[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” |
| 10[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 10His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” |
| 11[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 11He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. |
| 12[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. |
| 13[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 13 That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand. |
| 14[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. |
| 15[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 15 For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ |
| 16[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. |
| 17[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it. |
| 18[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: |
| 19[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. |
| 20[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. |
| 21[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. |
| 22[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 22 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. |
| 23[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 23 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Parable of the Wheat and Weeds |
| 24[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 24Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. |
| 25[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. |
| 26[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. |
| 27[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’ |
| 28[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. |
| 29[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. |
| 30[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’” Parable of the Mustard Seed |
| 31[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 31Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. |
| 32[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” Parable of the Yeast |
| 33[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 33Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.” |
| 34[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 34Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. |
| 35[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 35This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet: “I will speak to you in parables. I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world. ” Parable of the Wheat and Weeds Explained |
| 36[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 36Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.” |
| 37[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 37Jesus replied, “The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. |
| 38[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. |
| 39[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 39 The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels. |
| 40[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 40 “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. |
| 41[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. |
| 42[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. |
| 43[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand! Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl |
| 44[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. |
| 45[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. |
| 46[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it! Parable of the Fishing Net |
| 47[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 47 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. |
| 48[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 48 When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away. |
| 49[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 49 That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous, |
| 50[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 50 throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. |
| 51[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 51 Do you understand all these things?” “Yes,” they said, “we do.” |
| 52[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 52Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.” Jesus Rejected at Nazareth |
| 53[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 53When Jesus had finished telling these stories and illustrations, he left that part of the country. |
| 54[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 54He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” |
| 55[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 55Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. |
| 56[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 56All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” |
| 57[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 57And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.” |
| 58[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 58And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief. |
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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