New Living Translation NLT
Common English Bible CEB
1 Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake.
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That day Jesus went out of the house and sat down beside the lake.
2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore.
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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 told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds.
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He said many things to them in parables: "A farmer went out to scatter seed.
4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.
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As he was scattering seed, some fell on the path, and birds came and ate it.
5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.
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Other seed fell on rocky ground where the soil was shallow. They sprouted immediately because the soil wasn't deep.
6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died.
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But when the sun came up, it scorched the plants, and they dried up because they had no roots.
7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants.
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Other seed fell among thorny plants. The thorny plants grew and choked them.
8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!
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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 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
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Everyone who has ears should pay attention."
10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”
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Jesus' disciples came and said to him, "Why do you use parables when you speak to the crowds?"
11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.
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Jesus replied, “Because they haven't received the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but you have.
12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.
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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 That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.
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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 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.
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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 the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’
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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 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
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“Happy are your eyes because they see. Happy are your ears because they hear.
17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.
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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 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds:
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"Consider then the parable of the farmer.
19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.
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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 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.
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As for the seed that was spread on rocky ground, this refers to people who hear the word and immediately receive it joyfully.
21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.
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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 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.
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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 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
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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 Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field.
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Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like someone who planted good seed in his field.
25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away.
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While people were sleeping, an enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat and went away.
26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.
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When the stalks sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.
27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’
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“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!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.
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“‘An enemy has done this,' he answered. “The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?'
29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do.
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"But the landowner said, ‘No, because if you gather the weeds, you'll pull up the wheat along with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”
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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 Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field.
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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 is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”
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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 Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”
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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 always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables.
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Jesus said all these things to the crowds in parables, and he spoke to them only in parables.
35 This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet: “I will speak to you in parables. I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world. ”
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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 Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.”
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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 Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed.
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Jesus replied, "The one who plants the good seed is the Human One.
38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one.
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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 the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.
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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 the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world.
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Just as people gather weeds and burn them in the fire, so it will be at the end of the present age.
41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.
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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 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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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. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!
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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 a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.
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“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 on the lookout for choice pearls.
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“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.
46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!
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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 fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind.
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“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that people threw into the lake and gathered all kinds of fish.
48 When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away.
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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 is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous,
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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 throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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and will throw the evil ones into a burning furnace. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.
51 Do you understand all these things?” “Yes,” they said, “we do.”
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"Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked. They said to him, "Yes."
52 Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.”
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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 had finished telling these stories and illustrations, he left that part of the country.
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When Jesus finished these parables, he departed.
54 He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?”
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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 Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.
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Isn't he the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother named Mary? Aren't James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers?
56 All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?”
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And his sisters, aren't they here with us? Where did this man get all this?"
57 And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.”
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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 And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.
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He was unable to do many miracles there because of their disbelief.