Matthew 13
Matthew 13:1
On that day Yeshua went out of the house, and sat by the seaside.
Matthew 13:2
Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat, and sat, and all the multitude stood on the beach.
Matthew 13:3
He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, a farmer went out to sow.
Matthew 13:4
As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them.
Matthew 13:5
Others fell on rocky ground, where they didnt have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.
Matthew 13:6
When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away.
Matthew 13:7
Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them.
Matthew 13:8
Others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.
Matthew 13:9
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Matthew 13:10
The disciples came, and said to him, Why do you speak to them in parables?
Matthew 13:11
He answered them, To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.
In Ramchal’s Introduction to Midrash, he explains why the Sages use parables and exaggerated expressions to convey deeper concepts:
“…As you know, what promoted the Sages to write down the Oral Torah, against the received rule of prohibiting such writing, was that they saw a progressive weakening of learning as a result of the long exile and changing times.the ability to remember and to reason was gradually diminishing, and the Torah was becoming forgotten. They decided therefore, in keeping wit the principle of ‘It is a time to act for HaShem; they have nullified your Law’ (Psalms 119:126), to write down the entire oral elaboration of the commandments, so that it would be preserved for all time…However, the solution they employed for the halachic portion was not appropriate for the estoteric portions…It is not appropriate that the esoteric parts be accessible to those who are unworthy, on account of the loftiness and profundity of the concepts…”
He continues,
“For this reason, the Sages could not simply write down these esoteric concepts in a clear and unambiguous form as they did the legal portions of the Oral Torah. Rather, they adopted a balanced solution. That is, they would indeed write them down, so that they would not be lost from later generations. But they would write them cryptically and as riddles so that they would be understandable only to those who had received the keys to decipher them. This resolved the Sages dilemma: To those who were not in possession of the keys, the written words would be unintelligible…”
Ramchal’s Introduction to the Midrash, cited in Midrash Rabbah, Volume I: Bereshis-Noach, Artscroll Mesorah Publications, ltd., pgs. xxvii-xxviii
Ramchal’s Introduction to the Midrash, cited in Midrash Rabbah, Volume I: Bereshis-Noach, Artscroll Mesorah Publications, ltd., pgs. xxvii-xxviii
Matthew 13:12
For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever doesnt have, from him will be taken away even that which he has.
Matthew 13:13
Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing, they do not hear, neither do they understand.
Matthew 13:14
In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive:
Matthew 13:15
for this peoples heart has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and should turn again; and I would heal them.
Matthew 13:16
But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.
Matthew 13:17
For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didnt see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didnt hear them.
Matthew 13:18
Hear, then, the parable of the farmer.
Matthew 13:19
When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesnt understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside.
Matthew 13:20
What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it;
Matthew 13:21
yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
Matthew 13:22
What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
Matthew 13:23
What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit, and brings forth, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.
Matthew 13:24
He set another parable before them, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field,
Matthew 13:25
but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away.
Matthew 13:26
But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then the darnel weeds appeared also.
Matthew 13:27
The servants of the householder came and said to him, Sir, didnt you sow good seed in your field? Where did this darnel come from?
Matthew 13:28
He said to them, An enemy did this. The servants asked him, Do you want us to go and gather them up?
Matthew 13:29
But he said, No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them.
Matthew 13:30
Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.
Matthew 13:31
He set another parable before them, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field;
Matthew 13:32
which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.
Matthew 13:33
He spoke another parable to them. The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures[3] of meal, until it was all leavened.
Matthew 13:34
Yeshua spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didnt speak to them,
Matthew 13:35
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.
Matthew 13:36
Then Yeshua sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.
Matthew 13:37
He answered them, He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
Matthew 13:38
the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one.
Matthew 13:39
The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
Matthew 13:40
As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age.
Matthew 13:41
The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity,
Matthew 13:42
and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:43
Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Matthew 13:44
Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
Matthew 13:45
Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls,
Matthew 13:46
who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Matthew 13:47
Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some fish of every kind,
Matthew 13:48
which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach. They sat down, and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away.
Matthew 13:49
So will it be in the end of the world. The angels will come forth, and separate the wicked from among the righteous,
Matthew 13:50
and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:51
Yeshua said to them, Have you understood all these things? They answered him, Yes, Lord.
Matthew 13:52
He said to them, Therefore, every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things.
Matthew 13:53
It happened that when Yeshua had finished these parables, he departed from there.
Matthew 13:54
Coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, Where did this man get this wisdom, and these mighty works?
Matthew 13:55
Is not this son of the carpenters? Isnt his mother called Miriam, and his brothers, Jacob, Yosi, Simon, and Judah?
Matthew 13:56
Arent all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?
Matthew 13:57
They were offended by him. But Yeshua said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own house.
