And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying: Behold, the sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way: and the birds came and ate them up. read more. Others fell on stony places, where they had not much earth; and they immediately sprung up, because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked them. Others fell upon good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundred, some fifty. some thirty. He that has ears to hear, let him hear. And the disciples came and said to him: "Why dost thou speak to them in parables? 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 given, and he shall have abundance; but whoever has not, even that which he has shall be taken from him. For this reason I speak to them in parables; because when they see, they see not; and when they hear, they hear not, nor do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah, which says: You shall surely hear, and you will not understand; and you shall surely see, and you will not perceive. For the heart of this people has become fat; and with their ears they hear heavily; and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should turn to me, and I should give them health. But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say to you, Many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear. Hear you, therefore, the parable of the sower. When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, the wicked one comes and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he that received seed by the way side. He that received seed on the stony places is he that hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while; and when affliction or persecution arises on account of the word, he immediately takes offense. He that received seed among the thorns, is he that hears the word; and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But he that received seed on the good ground, is he that hears the word and understands it; who also produces fruit, and yields, one a hundred; another, sixty; another, thirty. Another parable he laid before them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprung up, and produced fruit, then appeared the tares also. And the servants of the master of the house came, and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Whence, then, has it tares? He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Is it your will, then, that we go and gather them up? But he said, No; lest while you are gathering the tares, you root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together till the harvest, and in time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares, and bind them into bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my granary. Another parable he laid before them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like- a grain of mustard, that a man took and sowed in his field. It is, indeed, the least of all seeds; but when it is grown it is the largest of garden-plants, and be comes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and roost in its branches. He spoke another parable to them: The kingdom of. heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till the whole was leavened. All these things Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them; that the word might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things that have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Then Jesus left the multitudes, and went into the house. And his disciples came to him and said: Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field. 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 sons of the kingdom; the tares are the sons of the Wicked One; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. As, therefore, the tares are collected and burned in fire, so shall it be in the end of this age. The Son of man will send forth his angels, and collect out of his kingdom all things that offend, and those who work iniquity, and cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. He that has ears to hear,- let him hear.

Thoughtless man! That which you sow is not made alive, unless it die; and as to that which you sow, you sow not the body that shall be produced, but the naked grain, it may be of wheat, or of some other grain: read more. but God gives it a body, as it pleases him; and to every seed, its proper body. All flesh is not the same flesh; but there is one flesh of men, another of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also bodies celestial, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and that of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So, also, is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power: it is sown an animal body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is an animal body, and there is a spiritual body.