Matthew 13:1-17

The Parable of the Sower

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house ¹and sat beside the sea.

2 And great crowds gathered about him, ²so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.

3 And ³he told them many things in parables, saying: ⁴"A sower went out to sow.

4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,

6 but ⁵when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, ⁶they withered away.

7 Other seeds fell among ⁷thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.

8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some ⁸a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

9 ⁹He who has ears,^[a] let him hear."

The Purpose of the Parables

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

11 And he answered them, ¹⁰"To you it has been given to know ¹¹the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

12 ¹²For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, ¹³even what he has will be taken away.

13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because ¹⁴seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, ¹⁵nor do they understand.

14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ¹⁶"'You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.

15 For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears ¹⁷they can barely hear, and ¹⁸their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and ¹⁹understand with their heart and ²⁰turn, and I would heal them.'

16 But ²¹blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

17 ²²For truly, I say to you, ²³many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Cross References

• 1. For ver. 1-15, see Mark 4:1-12; Luke 8:4-10
• 2. [Mark 3:9; Luke 5:1-3]
• 3. ver. 34
• 4. [Isaiah 55:10; Amos 9:13]
• 5. James 1:11
• 6. John 15:6
• 7. Jeremiah 4:3
• 8. ver. 23; Genesis 26:12
• 9. See Matthew 11:15
• 10. Matthew 19:11; Colossians 1:27; [1 Corinthians 2:6-10; 1 John 2:20, 27]; See Matthew 11:25
• 11. See Romans 16:25
• 12. Matthew 25:29; Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18; Luke 19:26; [John 15:2; James 4:6]
• 13. [Revelation 2:5]
• 14. Deuteronomy 29:4; Jeremiah 5:21; Ezekiel 12:2; Romans 11:8; 2 Corinthians 3:14; 2 Corinthians 4:4; [Isaiah 42:19, 20]
• 15. ver. 19, 51; Matthew 15:10; Matthew 16:12; Mark 8:21
• 16. John 12:40; Acts 28:26, 27; Cited from Isaiah 6:9, 10
• 17. [Hebrews 5:11]
• 18. [John 9:39, 41]
• 19. [Romans 10:10]
• 20. See Luke 22:32
• 21. Luke 10:23, 24; [Matthew 16:17]
• 22. [See ver. 16 above]
• 23. Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 1:10-12; [John 8:56]

Footnotes

• [a]. Some manuscripts add here and in verse 43 to hear