Change Translation
Loading
  • Recent Translations
  • All Translations

Matthew 13; Luke 8

Viewing Multiple Passages

Share

Settings

Matthew 13

1 That day Jesus went out of the house and sat down beside the lake.
2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he climbed into a boat and sat down. The whole crowd was standing on the shore.
3 He said many things to them in parables: "A farmer went out to scatter seed.
4 As he was scattering seed, some fell on the path, and birds came and ate it.
5 Other seed fell on rocky ground where the soil was shallow. They sprouted immediately because the soil wasn't deep.
6 But when the sun came up, it scorched the plants, and they dried up because they had no roots.
7 Other seed fell among thorny plants. The thorny plants grew and choked them.
8 Other seed fell on good soil and bore fruit, in one case a yield of one hundred to one, in another case a yield of sixty to one, and in another case a yield of thirty to one.
9 Everyone who has ears should pay attention."
10 Jesus' disciples came and said to him, "Why do you use parables when you speak to the crowds?"
11 Jesus replied, “Because they haven't received the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but you have.
12 For those who have will receive more and they will have more than enough. But as for those who don't have, even the little they have will be taken away from them.
13 This is why I speak to the crowds in parables: although they see, they don't really see; and although they hear, they don't really hear or understand.
14 What Isaiah prophesied has become completely true for them: You will hear, to be sure, but never understand; and you will certainly see but never recognize what you are seeing.
15 For this people's senses have become calloused, and they've become hard of hearing, and they've shut their eyes so that they won't see with their eyes or hear with their ears or understand with their minds, and change their hearts and lives that I may heal them.
16 “Happy are your eyes because they see. Happy are your ears because they hear.
17 I assure you that many prophets and righteous people wanted to see what you see and hear what you hear, but they didn't.
18 "Consider then the parable of the farmer.
19 Whenever people hear the word about the kingdom and don't understand it, the evil one comes and carries off what was planted in their hearts. This is the seed that was sown on the path.
20 As for the seed that was spread on rocky ground, this refers to people who hear the word and immediately receive it joyfully.
21 Because they have no roots, they last for only a little while. When they experience distress or abuse because of the word, they immediately fall away.
22 As for the seed that was spread among thorny plants, this refers to those who hear the word, but the worries of this life and the false appeal of wealth choke the word, and it bears no fruit.
23 As for what was planted on good soil, this refers to those who hear and understand, and bear fruit and produce—in one case a yield of one hundred to one, in another case a yield of sixty to one, and in another case a yield of thirty to one."
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like someone who planted good seed in his field.
25 While people were sleeping, an enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat and went away.
26 When the stalks sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.
27 “The servants of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Master, didn't you plant good seed in your field? Then how is it that it has weeds?'
28 “‘An enemy has done this,' he answered. “The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?'
29 "But the landowner said, ‘No, because if you gather the weeds, you'll pull up the wheat along with them.
30 Let both grow side by side until the harvest. And at harvesttime I'll say to the harvesters, First gather the weeds and tie them together in bundles to be burned. But bring the wheat into my barn. '"
31 He told another parable to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in his field.
32 It's the smallest of all seeds. But when it's grown, it's the largest of all vegetable plants. It becomes a tree so that the birds in the sky come and nest in its branches."
33 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in a bushel of wheat flour until the yeast had worked its way through all the dough."
34 Jesus said all these things to the crowds in parables, and he spoke to them only in parables.
35 This was to fulfill what the prophet spoke: I'll speak in parables; I'll declare what has been hidden since the beginning of the world.
36 Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
37 Jesus replied, "The one who plants the good seed is the Human One.
38 The field is the world. And the good seeds are the followers of the kingdom. But the weeds are the followers of the evil one.
39 The enemy who planted them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the present age. The harvesters are the angels.
40 Just as people gather weeds and burn them in the fire, so it will be at the end of the present age.
41 The Human One will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that cause people to fall away and all people who sin.
42 He will throw them into a burning furnace. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. Those who have ears should hear."
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that somebody hid in a field, which someone else found and covered up. Full of joy, the finder sold everything and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.
46 When he found one very precious pearl, he went and sold all that he owned and bought it.
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that people threw into the lake and gathered all kinds of fish.
48 When it was full, they pulled it to the shore, where they sat down and put the good fish together into containers. But the bad fish they threw away.
49 That's the way it will be at the end of the present age. The angels will go out and separate the evil people from the righteous people,
50 and will throw the evil ones into a burning furnace. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.
51 "Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked. They said to him, "Yes."
52 Then he said to them, "Therefore, every legal expert who has been trained as a disciple for the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings old and new things out of their treasure chest."
53 When Jesus finished these parables, he departed.
54 When he came to his hometown, he taught the people in their synagogue. They were surprised and said, "Where did he get this wisdom? Where did he get the power to work miracles?
55 Isn't he the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother named Mary? Aren't James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers?
56 And his sisters, aren't they here with us? Where did this man get all this?"
57 They were repulsed by him and fell into sin. But Jesus said to them, "Prophets are honored everywhere except in their own hometowns and in their own households."
58 He was unable to do many miracles there because of their disbelief.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible

Luke 8

1 Soon afterward, Jesus traveled through the cities and villages, preaching and proclaiming the good news of God's kingdom. The Twelve were with him,
2 along with some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses. Among them were Mary Magdalene (from whom seven demons had been thrown out),
3 Joanna (the wife of Herod's servant Chuza), Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.
4 When a great crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from one city after another, he spoke to them in a parable:
5 "A farmer went out to scatter his seed. As he was scattering it, some fell on the path where it was crushed, and the birds in the sky came and ate it.
6 Other seed fell on rock. As it grew, it dried up because it had no moisture.
7 Other seed fell among thorny plants. The thorns grew with the plants and choked them.
8 Still other seed landed on good soil. When it grew, it produced one hundred times more grain than was scattered." As he said this, he called out, "Everyone who has ears should pay attention."
9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant.
10 He said, “You have been given the mysteries of God's kingdom, but these mysteries come to everyone else in parables so that when they see, they can't see, and when they hear, they can't understand.
11 “The parable means this: The seed is God's word.
12 The seed on the path are those who hear, but then the devil comes and steals the word from their hearts so that they won't believe and be saved.
13 The seed on the rock are those who receive the word joyfully when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while but fall away when they are tempted.
14 As for the seed that fell among thorny plants, these are the ones who, as they go about their lives, are choked by the concerns, riches, and pleasures of life, and their fruit never matures.
15 The seed that fell on good soil are those who hear the word and commit themselves to it with a good and upright heart. Through their resolve, they bear fruit.
16 "No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a bowl or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand so that those who enter can see the light.
17 Nothing is hidden that won't be exposed. Nor is anything concealed that won't be made known and brought to the light.
18 Therefore, listen carefully. Those who have will receive more, but as for those who don't have, even what they seem to have will be taken away from them."
19 Jesus' mother and brothers came to him but were unable to reach him because of the crowd.
20 Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you."
21 He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who listen to God's word and do it."
22 One day Jesus and his disciples boarded a boat. He said to them, "Let's cross over to the other side of the lake." So they set sail.
23 While they were sailing, he fell asleep. Gale-force winds swept down on the lake. The boat was filling up with water and they were in danger.
24 So they went and woke Jesus, shouting, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" But he got up and gave orders to the wind and the violent waves. The storm died down and it was calm.
25 He said to his disciples, "Where is your faith?" Filled with awe and wonder, they said to each other, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him!"
26 Jesus and his disciples sailed to the Gerasenes' land, which is across the lake from Galilee.
27 As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, a certain man met him. The man was from the city and was possessed by demons. For a long time, he had lived among the tombs, naked and homeless.
28 When he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down before him. Then he shouted, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!"
29 He said this because Jesus had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had taken possession of him, so he would be bound with leg irons and chains and placed under guard. But he would break his restraints, and the demon would force him into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "Legion," he replied, because many demons had entered him.
31 They pleaded with him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
32 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs. Jesus gave them permission,
33 and the demons left the man and entered the pigs. The herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned.
34 When those who tended the pigs saw what happened, they ran away and told the story in the city and in the countryside.
35 People came to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone. He was sitting at Jesus' feet, fully dressed and completely sane. They were filled with awe.
36 Those people who had actually seen what had happened told them how the demon-possessed man had been delivered.
37 Then everyone gathered from the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave their area because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and returned across the lake.
38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged to come along with Jesus as one of his disciples. Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 "Return home and tell the story of what God has done for you." So he went throughout the city proclaiming what Jesus had done for him.
40 When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they had been waiting for him.
41 A man named Jairus, who was a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus' feet. He pleaded with Jesus to come to his house
42 because his only daughter, a twelve-year-old, was dying. As Jesus moved forward, he faced smothering crowds.
43 A woman was there who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had spent her entire livelihood on doctors, but no one could heal her.
44 She came up behind him and touched the hem of his clothes, and at once her bleeding stopped.
45 "Who touched me?" Jesus asked. When everyone denied it, Peter said, "Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing in on you!"
46 But Jesus said, "Someone touched me. I know that power has gone out from me."
47 When the woman saw that she couldn't escape notice, she came trembling and fell before Jesus. In front of everyone, she explained why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed.
48 "Daughter, your faith has healed you," Jesus said. "Go in peace."
49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader's house, saying to Jairus, "Your daughter has died. Don't bother the teacher any longer."
50 When Jesus heard this, he responded, "Don't be afraid; just keep trusting, and she will be healed."
51 When he came to the house, he didn't allow anyone to enter with him except Peter, John, and James, and the child's father and mother.
52 They were all crying and mourning for her, but Jesus said, "Don't cry. She isn't dead. She's only sleeping."
53 They laughed at him because they knew she was dead.
54 Taking her hand, Jesus called out, "Child, get up."
55 Her life returned and she got up at once. He directed them to give her something to eat.
56 Her parents were beside themselves with joy, but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible