1 On that day Jesus went out of the house.

2 And there were gathered to him great multitudes.

3 And he spoke to them many things in parables, saying, Look, the sower went forth to sow;

4 and as he sowed, some [seeds] fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them:

5 and others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much earth: and right away they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth:

6 and when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7 And others fell on the thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked them:

8 and others fell on the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

9 He who has ears, let him hear.

10 And the disciples came, and said to him, Why do you speak to them in parables?

11 And he answered and said to them, To you{+} it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

12 For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance: but whoever does not have, from him will be taken away even that which he has.

13 Therefore I speak to them in parables; because seeing they don't see, and hearing they don't hear, neither do they understand.

14 Then hear{+} the parable of the sower.

15 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, [then] the evil [one] comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is he who was sown by the wayside.

16 And he who was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and right away with joy receives it;

17 yet he does not have root in himself, but endures for awhile; and when tribulation or persecution rises because of the word, right away he stumbles.

18 And he who was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word; and the care of the age, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

19 And he who was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it; who truly bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

20 He set another parable before the multitudes, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field:

21 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed weeds also among the wheat, and went away.

22 But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the weeds also.

23 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? From where then has it weeds?

24 And he said to them, A hostile man has done this. And the slaves say to him, Will you then that we go and gather them up?

25 But he says, No; lest perhaps while you{+} gather up the weeds, you{+} root up the wheat with them.

26 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.

27 Another parable he set before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

28 which indeed is less than all seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and lodge in its branches.

29 Another parable he spoke to them; The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.

30 All these things Jesus spoke in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable he spoke nothing to them.

31 Then he left the multitudes, and went into the house: and his disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.

32 And he answered and said, He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;

33 and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil [one];

34 and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the harvest is the very end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

35 As therefore the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so it will be in the very end of the age.

36 The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity,

37 and will cast them into the furnace of fire.

38 Then will the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.