Mateus 13

¹ The same day went Iesus out of the house, and sate by the sea side.

² Christ shows in putting forth this parable of the sower, that the seed of life which is sown in the world does not do as well in one as in another, and the reason for this is that men for the most part, either do not receive it, or do not permit it to ripen.And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

³ Then he spake many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sowe.

⁴ And as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the foules came and deuoured them vp.

⁵ And some fell vpon stony grounde, where they had not much earth, and anon they sprong vp, because they had no depth of earth.

⁶ And when the sunne was vp, they were parched, and for lacke of rooting, withered away.

⁷ And some fell among thornes, and the thornes sprong vp, and choked them.

⁸ Some againe fel in good ground, & brought forth fruite, one corne an hundreth folde, some sixtie folde, and another thirtie folde.

⁹ He that hath eares to heare, let him heare.

¹⁰ Then the disciples came, and said to him, Why speakest thou to them in parables?

¹¹ The gift of understanding and faith is given only to the elect, and all the rest are blinded through the just judgment of God.He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

¹² For whosoeuer hath, to him shalbe giuen, and he shall haue abundance: but whosoeuer hath not, from him shalbe taken away, euen that he hath.

¹³ Therefore speake I to them in parables, because they seeing, doe not see: and hearing, they heare not, neither vnderstand.

¹⁴ So in them is fulfilled the prophecie of Esaias, which prophecie saieth, By hearing, ye shall heare, and shall not vnderstand, and seeing, ye shal see, and shall not perceiue.

¹⁵ For this peoples heart is waxed fat, & their eares are dull of hearing, and with their eyes they haue winked, lest they should see with their eyes, and heare with their eares, & should vnderstand with their hearts, & should returne, that I might heale them.

¹⁶ The condition of the Church under and since Christ, is better than it was in the time of the fathers under the law.But blessed [are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

¹⁷ For verely I say vnto you, that many Prophets, & righteous men haue desired to see those things which ye see, & haue not seene them, & to heare those things which ye heare, and haue not heard them.

¹⁸ Heare ye therefore ye parable of ye sower.

¹⁹ When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth [it] not, then cometh the wicked [one], and catcheth away that which was sown in hisThough there is mention made of the heart, yet this sowing is referred to as hearing without understanding. For whether the seed is received in the heart or not, yet he that sows, sows to the heart.heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

²⁰ And hee that receiued seede in the stonie grounde, is he which heareth the woorde, and incontinently with ioy receiueth it,

²¹ Yet hath he no roote in himselfe, and dureth but a season: for assoone as tribulation or persecution commeth because of the woorde, by and by he is offended.

²² And hee that receiued the seede among thornes, is hee that heareth the woorde: but the care of this worlde, and the deceitfulnesse of riches choke the word, and he is made vnfruitfull.

²³ But he that receiued the seede in the good ground, is he that heareth the worde, and vnderstandeth it, which also beareth fruite, and bringeth foorth, some an hundreth folde, some sixtie folde, and some thirtie folde.

²⁴ Christ shows in another parable of the evil seed mixed with the good, that the Church will never be free and rid of offences, both in doctrine and manners, until the day appointed for the restoring of all things comes, and therefore the faithful have to arm themselves with patience and steadfastness.Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

²⁵ But while men slept, there came his enemie, and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his waie.

²⁶ And when the blade was sprong vp, and brought forth fruite, then appeared the tares also.

²⁷ Then came the seruaunts of the housholder, and sayd vnto him, Master, sowedst not thou good seede in thy fielde? from whence then hath it tares?

²⁸ And hee said to them, Some enuious man hath done this. Then the seruants saide vnto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them vp?

²⁹ But he saide, Nay, lest while yee goe about to gather the tares, yee plucke vp also with them the wheat.

³⁰ Let both growe together vntill the haruest, and in time of haruest I will say to the reapers, Gather yee first the tares, and binde them in sheaues to burne them: but gather the wheate into my barne.

³¹ God begins his kingdom with very small beginnings so that by its growing (even though men neither hope nor expect it to) his mighty power and working may be displayed all the more.Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

³² Which in deede is the least of all seedes: but when it is growen, it is the greatest among herbes, and it is a tree, so that the birdes of heauen come and builde in the branches thereof.

³³ Another parable spake hee to them, The kingdome of heauen is like vnto leauen, which a woman taketh and hideth in three pecks of meale, till all be leauened.

³⁴ All these thinges spake Iesus vnto the multitude in parables, and without parables spake he not to them,

³⁵ That it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables, and will vtter the thinges which haue beene kept secrete from the foundation of the worlde.

³⁶ Then sent Iesus the multitude away, and went into the house; his disciples came vnto him, saying, Declare vnto vs the parable of the tares of that fielde.

³⁷ He expounds the first parable of the good and evil seed.He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;

³⁸ And the field is the worlde, and the good seede are the children of the kingdome, and the tares are the children of that wicked one.

³⁹ And the enemie that soweth them, is the deuill, and the haruest is the end of the worlde, and the reapers be the Angels.

⁴⁰ As then the tares are gathered and burned in ye fire, so shal it be in the end of this world.

⁴¹ The Sonne of man shal send forth his Angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which doe iniquitie,

⁴² And shall cast them into a fornace of fire. There shalbe wailing and gnashing of teeth.

⁴³ Then shall the iust men shine as ye sunne in the kingdome of their Father. Hee that hath eares to heare, let him heare.

⁴⁴ Few men understand how great the riches of the kingdom of heaven are, and that no man can be a partaker of them but he that redeems them with the loss of all his goods.Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

⁴⁵ Againe, the kingdome of heauen is like to a marchant man, that seeketh good pearles,

⁴⁶ Who hauing found a pearle of great price, went and solde all that he had, and bought it.

⁴⁷ There are many in the Church who nevertheless are not of the Church, and therefore at length will be cast out: but the full and perfect cleansing of them is deferred to the last day.Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:

⁴⁸ Which, when it is full, men draw to lande, and sit and gather the good into vessels, and cast the bad away.

⁴⁹ So shall it be at the end of the world. The Angels shall goe foorth, and seuer the bad from among the iust,

⁵⁰ And shall cast them into a fornace of fire: there shalbe wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹ They ought to be diligent, who have to be wise not only for themselves, but who have to dispense the wisdom of God to others.Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.

⁵² Then sayd hee vnto them, Therefore euery Scribe which is taught vnto the kingdome of heauen, is like vnto an householder, which bringeth foorth out of his treasure things both newe and olde.

⁵³ And it came to passe, that when Iesus had ended these parables, he departed thence,

⁵⁴ Men not only sin because of ignorance, but also knowingly and willingly they lay stumbling blocks in their own ways, that when God calls them, they may not obey, and so most plainly destroy and cast away themselves.And when he was come 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?

⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenters sonne? Is not his mother called Marie, and his brethren Iames and Ioses, and Simon and Iudas?

⁵⁶ And are not his sisters all with vs? Whence then hath he all these things?

⁵⁷ And they were offended with him. Then Iesus said to them, A Prophet is not without honour, saue in his owne countrey, and in his owne house.

⁵⁸ And he did not many great woorkes there, for their vnbeliefes sake.