Chapter 13

  On that day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.  

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  And there were gathered unto him great multitudes, so that he entered into a boat, and sat; and all the multitude stood on the beach.  

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  And he spake to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went forth to sow;  

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

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  and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: and straightway they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth:  

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

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

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

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  He that hath ears, let him hear.  

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  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?  

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  And he answered and said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.  

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  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.  

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

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  And unto them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand; And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive:  

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  For this people's heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them.  

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  But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.  

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  For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which ye see, and saw them not; and to hear the things which ye hear, and heard them not.  

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  Hear then ye the parable of the sower.  

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  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, [then] cometh the evil [one], and snatcheth away that which hath been sown in his heart. This is he that was sown by the way side.  

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  And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it;  

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  yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth.  

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  And he that was sown among the thorns, this is he that heareth the word; and the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.  

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  And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  

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  Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field:  

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

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

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  And the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares?  

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  And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. And the servants say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?  

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  But he saith, Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them.  

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

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

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

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

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  All these things spake Jesus in parables unto the multitudes; and without a parable spake he nothing unto them:  

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  that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.  

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

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  And he answered and said, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;  

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

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

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  As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the world.  

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  The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity,  

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  and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.  

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  Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear.  

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  The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid; and in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.  

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  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls:  

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  and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.  

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  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:  

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  which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but the bad they cast away.  

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  So shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous,  

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  and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.  

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  Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea.  

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  And he said unto them, Therefore every scribe who hath been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.  

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  And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.  

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  And coming into his own country he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?  

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  Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas?  

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  And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?  

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  And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.  

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  And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.  

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