And on that day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. And great multitudes came together to him; and he went into the ship and sat down; and all the multitude stood on the shore. And he spoke to them many things in parables, saying; Behold, a sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some fell by the way, and the birds came and devoured it. And some fell on rocky places, where it had not much earth, and it came up immediately, because it had no depth of earth; and when the sun arose it was scorched, and because it had no root it was dried up. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it. But some fell on good ground, and bore fruit; some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty-fold. He that has ears let him hear.

And his disciples came and said to him, Why do you speak to them in parables? And he answered and said to them, Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given; for whoever has, to him shall be also given, and he shall abound; but whoever has not, from him shall be taken away even what he has. For this reason I speak to them in parables; because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says; Hearing you shall hear and not understand, and seeing you shall see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have become hard, and they hear imperfectly with their ears, and their eyes have they closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. For I tell you truly, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see what you see and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear and have not heard it.

Hear, therefore, the parable of the sower. When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and takes away the seed sown in his heart. This is he that received seed by the way. He that received seed on the

rocky places is he that hears the word and immediately receives it with joy but has no root in himself, but is only a temporary [disciple]; and when affliction or persecution arises on account of the word, he is immediately offended. And he that received seed among thorns is he that hears the word, and the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But he that received the seed in the good ground is he that hears the word, and understands it, who also bears fruit, and produces some one hundred, and some sixty, and some thirty-fold.

And he delivered them another parable, saying; The kingdom of heaven is like a man sowing good seed in his field; and while the men slept, his enemy came and sowed poisonous darnel in the midst of the wheat, and went away. But when the stalk grew up and bore fruit, then the poisonous darnel appeared. And the servants of the householder came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Whence then has it poisonous darnel? And he said to them, An enemy has done this. And they said to him, Do you wish us to go and take them out? And he said, No; lest in taking out the poisonous darnel, you pull up the wheat with it; let both grow together till the harvest, and at the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers, Collect first the poisonous darnel, and bind it in bundles to be burnt; but collect the wheat in my storehouse.

He delivered them another parable, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field, which is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown is the greatest of plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and lodge on its branches. He spoke another parable to them; The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three sata [33 quarts] of flour, till the whole was leavened. All these things spoke Jesus to the multitudes in parables; and without a parable spoke he not to them; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will declare things which have been concealed from the foundation of the world.

Then leaving the multitudes, he went into the house, and his disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the poisonous darnel of the field. And he answered and said to them, He that sows the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the

world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the poisonous darnel are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the consummation of the world; and the reapers are angels. As, therefore, poisonous darnel is collected and burned with fire, so shall it be at the consummation of the world. The Son of man will send his angels, and they shall collect out of his kingdom all offenses, and all that commit wickedness, and cast them into a furnace of fire; and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous shall shine out like the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. He that has ears, let him hear.

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hid in a field, which a man found, and concealed, and went away with joy, and sold all that he had and bought that field. Again; the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, finding one very costly, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again; the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea, and collecting [fish] of every kind, which, when it was full, men drew to the shore, and sitting down put up the good in vessels and cast the bad away. So shall it be at the consummation of the world. The angels shall come forth and separate the evil from the midst of the good, and cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things? They said to him, Yes, Lord. And he said to them, Every scribe therefore that is instructed in the kingdom of heaven, is like a householder who casts out of his treasury things new and old.

And when Jesus had finished these parables he departed thence, and coming to his native country he taught them in their synagogues, so that they were astonished and said, Whence has this man this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James, and Josehp, and Simon, and Judas? And are not his sisters all with us? Whence then has this man all these things? And they were offended with him. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his native country, and in his own house; and he did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

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