The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1–9; Luke 8:4–8)
1 UDB That same day Jesus, along with the disciples, left the house where he was teaching and went to the shore of the Sea of Galilee. He sat down there, BSB BSB: That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.
2 UDB and a very large crowd gathered around him to listen to him teach. In order to have a little room, he got into a boat and sat down to teach them. The crowd stood on the shore and listened to him. BSB BSB: Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the shore.
3 UDB He taught them using many parables. He said, "Listen! A man went out to his field to sow seeds. BSB BSB: And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed.
4 UDB As he was scattering the seeds over the soil, some of the seeds fell on the path. But some birds came and ate those seeds. BSB BSB: And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
5 UDB Other seeds fell on ground where there was not much soil on top of the rock. Those seeds sprouted very soon because the sun quickly warmed the shallow soil. BSB BSB: Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow.
6 UDB But when the young plants came up, they became too hot in the sunlight, and they dried up because they did not have deep roots. BSB BSB: But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
7 UDB Other seeds fell on ground that had thorny weeds. The thorny weeds grew together with the young plants, and they crowded out the young plants. BSB BSB: Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings.
8 UDB But other seeds fell on good soil, and the plants grew and produced much grain. Some plants produced one hundred times as many seeds as were planted. Some plants produced sixty times as much. Some plants produced thirty times as much. BSB BSB: Still other seed fell on good soil and produced a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.
9 UDB If you are able to understand this, you should consider carefully what I have just said." BSB BSB: He who has ears, let him hear.”
The Purpose of Jesus’ Parables (Isaiah 6:1–13; Mark 4:10–12; Luke 8:9–10)
10 UDB The disciples approached Jesus later and asked him, "Why do you use parables when you speak to the crowd?" BSB BSB: Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?”
11 UDB He answered, "God is revealing to you what he did not reveal before, about how he is ruling from heaven. But he has not revealed it to these other people. BSB BSB: He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
12 UDB Those who are able to think about what I say and understand it, God will enable them to understand more. But those who are not able think carefully about what I say will forget even what they already know. BSB BSB: Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
13 UDB That is why I use parables when I speak to people, because although they see what I do, they do not understand what it means; and although they hear what I say, they do not really learn what it means. BSB BSB: This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’
14 UDB What these people do completely fulfills what God told the prophet Isaiah to say long ago, 'You will hear what I say, but you will not understand it. You will see what I do, but you will not learn what it means.' BSB BSB: In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 UDB God also said to Isaiah, 'These people are able to hear what I say, but they will never understand the message. They have eyes that can see, but they will never see clearly what it is they are looking at. They have closed their eyes so they cannot see. They cannot see with their eyes, they cannot hear with their ears, and they cannot understand. If they could see and hear and understand, then they would turn to me,' God says, 'and I would heal them.' BSB BSB: For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 UDB "But as for you, God has made you able because you realize what I have done and because you understand what I say. BSB BSB: But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.
17 UDB Note this: Many prophets and righteous people who lived long ago longed to see what you are seeing me do, but they did not see it. They longed to hear the things that you have been hearing me say, but they did not hear what you hear me say. BSB BSB: For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
The Parable of the Sower Explained (Mark 4:13–20; Luke 8:11–15)
18 UDB "Now listen to me explain the parable I told you. BSB BSB: Consider, then, the parable of the sower:
19 UDB Some people hear about how God is ruling but do not understand it. They are like the path where some of the seeds fell. Satan, the evil one, comes and causes these people to forget what they have heard. BSB BSB: When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
20 UDB Some people hear God's message and immediately accept it joyfully. They are like the rocky places where some seeds fell. BSB BSB: The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.
21 UDB But because it does not penetrate deeply into their hearts, they believe it for only a short time. They are like the plants that did not have deep roots. When others treat them badly and make them suffer because they believe in what I have told them, they sin by refusing to believe in it any longer. BSB BSB: But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
22 UDB Some people hear God's message, but they desire to be rich, so they worry only about money and what they can buy with money. As a result, they forget God's message and they do not do the things that God wants them to do. These people are like the soil that had the roots of thorny weeds in it. BSB BSB: The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
23 UDB But some people hear my message and understand it. Some of them do many things that please God, some do even more things that please God, and some do very many things that please God. They are like the good soil where some of the seeds fell." BSB BSB: But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and produces a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.”
The Parable of the Weeds (Ezekiel 17:1–10)
25 UDB While those servants were sleeping and not guarding the field, an enemy of the landowner came and scattered weed seeds in the midst of the wheat. Then he left. BSB BSB: But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and slipped away.
26 UDB After the seeds sprouted and the green plants grew, the heads of grain began to form. But the weeds also grew. BSB BSB: When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.
27 UDB So the servants of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, you gave us good seeds and those are the ones we sowed in your field. So where did the weeds come from?' BSB BSB: The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 UDB "The landowner said to them, 'My enemy did this.' His servants said to him, 'Do you want us to pull up the weeds?' BSB BSB: ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. So the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 UDB "He said to them, 'No, do not do that, because you might pull up some of the wheat at the same time. BSB BSB: ‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them.
30 UDB Let the wheat and the weeds grow together until harvest time. At that time I will say to those who will reap, "First gather the weeds, and tie them into bundles to be burned. Then gather the wheat, and put it into my barns."'" BSB BSB: Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Mark 4:30–34; Luke 13:18–19)
31 UDB Jesus also told this parable: "When God rules from heaven, it is like mustard seeds that grow after a man plants them in his field. BSB BSB: He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field.
32 UDB Although mustard seeds are among the smallest of all the seeds that people plant, here in Israel they become large plants. When the plants have fully grown, they are larger than the other garden plants. They become shrubs as big as trees, and they are large enough for the birds to build nests in their branches." BSB BSB: Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
The Parable of the Leaven (Luke 13:20–21)
33 UDB Jesus also told this parable: "When God rules from heaven, it is like a woman who was making bread. She took about forty liters of flour and mixed into it a little bit of yeast, and the bread rose." BSB BSB: He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”
I Will Open My Mouth in Parables (Psalm 78:1–72)
34 UDB Jesus told the crowd parables to teach them all these things. When he spoke to them he habitually told stories like these. BSB BSB: Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable.
35 UDB By doing that, he made come true what God told one of the prophets to write long ago: "I will speak in parables; I will tell parables to teach what I have kept secret since I created the world." BSB BSB: So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”
The Parable of the Weeds Explained (Zephaniah 1:1–6)
36 UDB After Jesus sent the crowd away, he went into the house. Then the disciples approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable about the weeds that grew in the wheat field." BSB BSB: Then Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
37 UDB He answered, "The one who sows the good seed represents me, the Son of Man. BSB BSB: He replied, “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38 UDB The field represents this world, where people live. The seeds that grew well represent the people over whom God rules. The weeds represent the people who do what the devil, the Evil One, tells them to do. BSB BSB: The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,
39 UDB The enemy who sowed the weed seeds represents the devil. The time when the reapers will harvest the grain represents the time when the world will end. The reapers represent the angels. BSB BSB: and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
40 UDB The weeds are gathered and burned. That represents what will happen when God judges all people, when the world will end. It will be like this: BSB BSB: As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
41 UDB I, the Son of Man, will send my angels, and they will gather from among all that I am ruling the things that cause others to sin and all those who violate God's will. BSB BSB: The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness.
42 UDB The angels will throw those people into the fires of hell. There those people will weep and grind their teeth because of the great pain that they are suffering. BSB BSB: And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 UDB However, the people who have lived as he wants them to will shine out as brightly as the sun shines. They will shine out because God their Father will rule over them. If you are able to understand this, you should think carefully about what I have just said. BSB BSB: Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
The Parables of the Treasure and the Pearl 44 UDB "God's ruling from heaven is so precious it is like a man who found a great treasure that another person had buried in a field. When this man dug it up, he buried it again so no one else would find it. Then he went and sold all his possessions to obtain money to buy that field. He then went and bought the field, and so he was able to acquire that treasure. BSB BSB: The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45 UDB "Also, God ruling from heaven is so precious it is like what a merchant did who was looking for good quality pearls to buy. BSB BSB: Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.
46 UDB When he found one very costly pearl that was for sale, he sold all his possessions to acquire enough money to buy that pearl. Then he went and bought it. BSB BSB: When he found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold all he had and bought it.
The Parable of the Net 47 UDB "When God rules from heaven, it is like what certain fishermen did with the fish they caught in a lake with a large net. They caught all kinds of fish, both useful and worthless fish. BSB BSB: Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish.
48 UDB When the net was full, the fishermen pulled it up onto the shore. Then they sat there and put the good fish into buckets, but they threw the worthless ones away. BSB BSB: When it was full, the men pulled it ashore. Then they sat down and sorted the good fish into containers, but threw the bad away.
49 UDB This is like what will happen to people when the world ends. The angels will come to where God is judging people and will separate the wicked people from the righteous ones. BSB BSB: So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous
50 UDB They will throw the wicked people into the fire in hell. And those wicked people will weep and gnash their teeth because of the intense pain they are suffering." BSB BSB: and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 UDB Then Jesus asked the disciples, "Do you understand all these parables I have told you?" They said to him, "Yes, we understand them." BSB BSB: Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered.
52 UDB Then he said, "Those teachers and interpreters who understand these parables and act accordingly under the rule of God from heaven are like a house owner who shares both new things and old things out of his storage room." BSB BSB: Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
The Rejection at Nazareth (Mark 6:1–6; Luke 4:16–30)
53 UDB When Jesus had finished telling these parables, he took the disciples and left that area. BSB BSB: When Jesus had finished these parables, He withdrew from that place.
54 UDB Then they went to the town of Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus. On the Sabbath he began to teach the people in the synagogue. The result was that the people there were astonished. But some said, "This man is just an ordinary person like us! So how is it that he knows so much and understands so much? And how is it that he is able to do such miracles? BSB BSB: Coming to His hometown, He taught the people in their synagogue, and they were astonished. “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?” they asked.
56 UDB And his sisters also live here in our town. So how is he able to teach and do all these things?" BSB BSB: Aren’t all His sisters with us as well? Where then did this man get all these things?”
57 UDB The people there refused to accept that Jesus had such authority. So Jesus said to them, "People honor me and other prophets everywhere else we go, but in our hometowns we are not honored, and even our own families do not honor us!" BSB BSB: And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own household is a prophet without honor.”
58 UDB Jesus did not perform many miracles there because the people did not believe that he had such authority. BSB BSB: And He did not do many miracles there, because of their unbelief.