Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say good things [when you] are evil? For from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s proclamation; and look—something greater than Jonah is here!

The queen of the south will stand up and condemn the people living today, because she came from so far away to hear the wisdom of Solomon. But look! Something greater than Solomon is here!"

Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

While Jesus was still speaking to the large crowds, His mother and [half-] brothers were standing outside [of the large house. See 13:1] wanting to speak to Him.

So some one told Him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and desire to speak to you."

And pointing to His disciples He added, "See here are my mother and my brothers.

For whosoever doth my father's will which is in heaven, the same is my brother, my sister, and my mother."

The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

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.

And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

And while he did so, some seeds were dropped by the wayside, and the birds came and took them for food:

And other seed fell on rocky ground where there was not much soil and immediately it sprouted up because the soil was so shallow.

so that as the sun arose it was scorched, and for want of root, withered away.

And the disciples came and said to him, Why do you say things to them in the form of stories?

For whoever has [spiritual wisdom because he is receptive to God’s word], to him more will be given, and he will be richly and abundantly supplied; but whoever does not have [spiritual wisdom because he has devalued God’s word], even what he has will be taken away from him.

Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

"So listen to the parable of the sower:

but it takes no real root in him, and he lasts only a little while, and just as soon as suffering and persecution come for the truth's sake, he at once yields and falls.

As for what was sown among the thorn bushes, this is the person who hears the word, but the worries of life and the deceitful pleasures of wealth choke the word so that it can't produce a crop.

And in men's sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares in the midst of the wheat, and went away.

So when the plants sprouted and formed grain, the weeds appeared also.

So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. And the servants say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Another simile he set before them, saying: 'The reign of the heavens is like to a grain of mustard, which a man having taken, did sow in his field,

Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds with parables. He did not say anything to them without using a parable.

so that that should be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the world's foundation.

So he answered [and] said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,

As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Anyone who has ears should listen!

"The kingdom of heaven is similar to a person finding a treasure hidden in a field. After finding it, he was so happy he hid it [again], then went out and sold everything he owned so he could buy that field.

and having found one pearl of great price, having gone away he sold all things, so many as he had, and bought it.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:

So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,

Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.

Then he added: "So every Teacher of the Law, who has received instruction about the Kingdom of Heaven, is like a householder who produces from his stores things both new and old."

And having come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, Whence has this man this wisdom and these works of power?

Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

And His sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does He get all these things?”

So they turned angrily away from Him. But Jesus said to them, "There is no prophet left without honour except in his own country and among his own family."

So, He did not perform very many supernatural deeds in that place because of the people's lack of faith.

About that time Herod the tetrarch [Note: This man was the son of Herod the Great (See 2:

“This is John the Baptist!” he told his servants. “He has been raised from the dead, and that’s why supernatural powers are at work in him.”

For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.

since John had been telling him, “It’s not lawful for you to have her!”

But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.

so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.

And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.

And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.

So he sent orders and had John beheaded in the prison.

And John’s disciples came and took away the body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

Now [when it] was evening, the disciples came to him saying, "The place is desolate and the hour {is late}. Release the crowds so that they can go away into the villages [and] purchase food for themselves."

but Jesus said to them, that's needless, let them eat what you have.

And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

So he said, "Bring them here to me."

He ordered the crowds to recline on the grass. Then He took the five loaves of bread and two fish and, looking up to heaven, asked God's blessing on the food, broke it [in pieces], then gave it to the disciples to distribute to the crowds.

So all ate, and were fully satisfied. The broken portions that remained over they gathered up, filling twelve baskets.

And [after he] sent away the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. So [when] evening came, he was there alone.

But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.

And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

"Have courage!" Jesus immediately told them. "It's me. Stop being afraid!"

“Lord, if it’s You,” Peter answered Him, “command me to come to You on the water.”

He said, “Come!” So Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

At once Jesus reached out his hand, caught him, and asked him, "You who have so little faith, why did you doubt?"

So they climbed into the boat, and the wind lulled;

But those in the ship came and did homage to him, saying, Truly thou art God's Son.

and the men of the place, recognizing Him, sent word into all the country round. So they brought all the sick to Him,

and they entreated Him that they might but touch the tassel of His outer garment; and all who did so were restored to perfect health.

So he answered [and] said to them, "Why do you also break the commandment of God because of your tradition?

But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;

he is not to honor his father or his mother [by helping them with their need].’ So by this you have invalidated the word of God [depriving it of force and authority and making it of no effect] for the sake of your tradition [handed down by the elders].

You false ones, well did Isaiah say of you,

These people [claim to] honor me with their lips [i.e., by what they say], but their heart is far from [honoring] me.

But in vain they worship me, teaching doctrines which are nothing but men's precepts.'"

It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”

Then the disciples came and said to him, Did you see that the Pharisees were troubled when these words came to their ears?

[So], let these Pharisees alone; they are blind leaders. And if a blind person leads a blind person, both of them will fall into a ditch."

So Jesus said, "Do you also still not understand?

Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?

But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from his heart. These are what [spiritually] corrupt a person.

For evil thoughts, murder, extramarital affairs, sexual immorality, stealing, perjury, slander --- [all these] come from a person's heart,

these are the things which defile a man: but to eat without washing one's hands, that does not defile a man.

Yet He did not say a word to her. So His disciples approached Him and urged Him, “Send her away because she cries out after us.”

But he answering said, I have not been sent save to the lost sheep of Israel's house.

But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.

So she said, "Yes, Lord, for even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table."

Then Jesus answered and said to her, O woman, great is your faith! So be it to you even as you wish. And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.