| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. | 1On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake. |
| 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. | 2And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while the whole crowd stood on the shore. |
| 3He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. | 3He told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. |
| 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. | 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. |
| 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. | 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep. |
| 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. | 6But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered. |
| 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. | 7Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them. |
| 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! | 8But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. |
| 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” | 9The one who has ears had better listen!" |
| 10His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” | 10Then the disciples came to him and said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" |
| 11He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. | 11He replied, "You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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.’ | 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.' |
| 16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. | 16"But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: | 18"So listen to the parable of the sower: |
| 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. | 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. |
| 20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. | 20The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. |
| 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. | 21But he has no root in himself and does not endure; when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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 | 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." |
| 24Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. | 24He presented them with another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. |
| 25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. | 25But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. |
| 26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. | 26When the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared. |
| 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?’ | 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?' |
| 28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. | 28He said, 'An enemy has done this.' So the slaves replied, 'Do you want us to go and gather them?' |
| 29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. | 29But he said, 'No, since in gathering the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them. |
| 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 | 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."'" |
| 31Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. | 31He gave them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. |
| 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 | 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." |
| 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.” | 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." |
| 34Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. | 34Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; he did not speak to them without a parable. |
| 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 | 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." |
| 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.” | 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." |
| 37Jesus replied, “The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. | 37He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. |
| 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. | 38The field is the world and the good seed are the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, |
| 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. | 39and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. |
| 40 “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. | 40As the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. |
| 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. | 41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers. |
| 42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. | 42They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. |
| 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 | 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears had better listen! |
| 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. | 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. |
| 45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. | 45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. |
| 46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it! Parable of the Fishing Net | 46When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it. |
| 47 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. | 47"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish. |
| 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. | 48When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away. |
| 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, | 49It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous |
| 50 throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. | 50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. |
| 51 Do you understand all these things?” “Yes,” they said, “we do.” | 51"Have you understood all these things?" They replied, "Yes." |
| 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 | 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." |
| 53When Jesus had finished telling these stories and illustrations, he left that part of the country. | 53Now when Jesus finished these parables, he moved on from there. |
| 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?” | 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? |
| 55Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. | 55Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother named Mary? And aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? |
| 56All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” | 56And aren't all his sisters here with us? Where did he get all this?" |
| 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.” | 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." |
| 58And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief. | 58And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. |
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