The Parable of the Sower

¹ On that day Jesus went out of the house and¹ was sitting by the sea.²

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went out”) has been translated as a finite verb
2. That is, the Sea of Galilee

² And large crowds gathered close around him, so that he got into a boat to sit down, and all the crowd was standing on the shore.

³ And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow,

⁴ and while he was sowing, ⌞some seed⌟¹ fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and² devoured it.

1. Literally “some of which”
2. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came”) has been translated as a finite verb

⁵ And other seed fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once because it did not have any depth of soil.

⁶ But when¹ the sun rose it was scorched, and because it did not have enough root, it withered.

1. *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“rose”)

⁷ And other seed fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it.

⁸ But other seed fell on the good soil and produced grain,¹ this one a hundred times as much and this one sixty and this one thirty.

1. Literally “fruit,” describing here the grain harvested from the healthy plants; in contemporary English this would more naturally be expressed by terms like “grain” or “crop”

⁹ The one who has ears, let him hear!”

The Reason for the Parables

¹⁰ And the disciples came up and¹ said to him, “⌞Why⌟² do you speak to them in parables?”

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came up”) has been translated as a finite verb
2. Literally “because of what”

¹¹ And he answered and¹ said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to those people it has not been granted.

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb

¹² For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

¹³ For this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand,

¹⁴ and with reference to them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says, “⌞You will listen carefully⌟¹ and will never understand, and ⌞you will look closely⌟² and will never perceive.

1. Literally “with hearing you will hear”
2. Literally “seeing you will see”

¹⁵ For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they hear with difficulty, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.”¹

1. A quotation from Isa 6:9–10

¹⁶ But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear.

¹⁷ For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it,¹ and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it!²

1. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
2. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

The Parable of the Sower Interpreted

¹⁸ “You, therefore, listen to the parable of the sower:

¹⁹ When¹ anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it,² the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown on the side of the path.

1. *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“hears”)
2. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

²⁰ And what was sown on the rocky ground—this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.

²¹ But he does not have a root in himself, but ⌞lasts only a little while⌟,¹ and when² affliction or persecution happens because of the word, immediately he falls away.

1. Literally “is temporary”
2. *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“happens”)

²² And what was sown into the thorn plants—this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of this world¹ and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unproductive.

1. Some manuscripts have “of the world”

²³ But what was sown on the good soil—this is the one who hears the word and understands it,¹ who indeed bears fruit and produces, this one a hundred times as much, and this one sixty, and this one thirty.”

1. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

The Parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat

²⁴ He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

²⁵ But while his¹ people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel² in the midst of the wheat and went away.

1. Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
2. A weed that looks similar to wheat but has poisonous seeds

²⁶ So when the ⌞wheat⌟¹ sprouted and yielded grain, then the darnel appeared also.

1. Literally “grass,” “hay,” but in this context referring to the good plants as opposed to the weeds

²⁷ So the slaves of the master of the house came and¹ said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have darnel?’

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came”) has been translated as a finite verb

²⁸ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So the slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and¹ gather them?’

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“go”) has been translated as an English infinitive

²⁹ But he said, “No, lest when you¹ gather the darnel you uproot the wheat together with it.

1. *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“gather”) which is understood as temporal

³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the season of the harvest I will tell the reapers, “First gather the darnel and tie it into bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my storehouse.” ’ ”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

³¹ He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and¹ sowed in his field.

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“took”) has been translated as a finite verb

³² ⌞It⌟¹ is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is larger than the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”

1. Literally “which,” but a new sentence is started here in the English translation

The Parable of the Yeast

³³ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and¹ put into three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“took”) has been translated as a finite verb

Parables Fulfill Prophecy

³⁴ Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables, and he was saying nothing to them without a parable,

³⁵ in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, who said, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden since the creation.”¹²

1. A quotation from Ps 78:2
2. Some manuscripts have “since the creation of the world”

The Parable of the Weeds Interpreted

³⁶ Then he left the crowds and¹ came into the house, and his disciples came to him saying, “Explain the parable of the darnel in the field to us.”

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“left”) has been translated as a finite verb

³⁷ So he answered and¹ said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb

³⁸ and the field is the world. And the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom, but the darnel are the sons of the evil one.

³⁹ And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

⁴⁰ Thus just as the darnel is gathered and burned¹ with fire, so it will be at the end of the age.

1. Some manuscripts have “burned up”

⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and those who do lawless deeds,

⁴² and throw them into the fiery furnace.¹ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

1. An allusion to Dan 3:6

⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.¹ The one who has ears, let him hear!

1. An allusion to Dan 12:3

The Parable of the Treasure Hidden in a Field

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, that a man found and¹ concealed, and in his joy he goes and sells everything that he has and buys that field.

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“found”) has been translated as a finite verb

The Parable of the Valuable Pearl

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.

⁴⁶ And when he¹ found one very valuable pearl, he went and² sold everything that he possessed and purchased it.

1. *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“found”) which is understood as temporal
2. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went”) has been translated as a finite verb

The Parable of the Dragnet

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish¹ of every kind,

1. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

⁴⁸ which when it was filled they pulled to shore and sat down and¹ collected the good fish² into containers, but the bad they threw out.

1. *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“sat down”) has been translated as a finite verb
2. *Here the word “fish” is not in the Greek text but is implied

⁴⁹ Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the evil from among the righteous

⁵⁰ and throw them into the fiery furnace.¹ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

1. An allusion to Dan 3:6

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.”

⁵² And he said to them, “For this reason every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of the house who brings out of his storeroom new things and old things.”

Rejected at Nazareth

⁵³ And it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables he went away from there.