and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, and no sign shall be given it but the sign of the prophet Jonah. 12:40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 12:41The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they changed their minds at the preaching of Jonah; and behold a greater than Jonah is here. 12:42The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold a greater than Solomon is here. 12:43But when the impure spirit has gone out of a man, it goes through dry places seeking a rest, and finds none. 12:44Then it says, I will return to my house from which I went out; and coming, it finds it empty, swept, and adorned. 12:45Then it goes and takes with itself seven other spirits worse than itself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it be also with this evil generation.
4 12:46And while he was speaking to the multitudes, behold his mother and his brothers stood without, desiring to speak to him. 12:47And some one said to him, Behold your mother and your brothers stand without, desiring to speak to you. 12:48And he answered and said to him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brothers? 12:49and stretching out his hand to his disciples, he said, Behold my mother, and my brothers! 12:50For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.
CHAPTER XI.
CHRIST'S PARABLES ON THE LAKE OF GALILEE.
1 13:1AND on that day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 13:2And great multitudes came together to him; and he went into the ship and sat down; and all the multitude stood on the shore. 13:3And he spoke to them many things in parables, saying; Behold, a sower went out to sow; 13:4and as he sowed, some fell by the way, and the birds came and devoured it. 13:5And some fell on rocky places, where it had not much earth, and it came up immediately, because it had no depth of earth; 13:6and when the sun arose it was scorched, and because it had no root it was dried up. 13:7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it. 13:8But some fell on good ground, and bore fruit; some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty-fold. 13:9He that has ears let him hear.
2 13:10And his disciples came and said to him, Why do you speak to them in parables? 13:11And 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; 13:12for 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. 13:13For this reason I speak to them in parables; because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand. 13:14And 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; 13:15for 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. 13:16But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. 13:17For 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.
3 13:18Hear, therefore, the parable of the sower. 13:19When 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. 13:20He that received seed on the rocky places is he that hears the word and immediately receives it with joy 13:21but 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. 13:22And 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. 13:23But 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.
4 13:24And he delivered them another parable, saying; The kingdom of heaven is like a man sowing good seed in his field; 13:25and while the men slept, his enemy came and sowed poisonous darnel in the midst of the wheat, and went away. 13:26But when the stalk grew up and bore fruit, then the poisonous darnel appeared. 13:27And 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? 13:28And he said to them, An enemy has done this. And they said to him, Do you wish us to go and take them out? 13:29And he said, No; lest in taking out the poisonous darnel, you pull up the wheat with it; 13:30let 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.
5 13:31He delivered them another parable, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field, 13:32which 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. 13:33He 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. 13:34All these things spoke Jesus to the multitudes in parables; and without a parable spoke he not to them; 13:35that 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.
6 13:36Then 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. 13:37And he answered and said to them, He that sows the good seed is the Son of man; 13:38the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the poisonous darnel are the children of the wicked one; 13:39the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the consummation of the world; and the reapers are angels. 13:40As, therefore, poisonous darnel is collected and burned with fire, so shall it be at the consummation of the world. 13:41The Son of man will send his angels, and they shall collect out of his kingdom all offenses, and all that commit wickedness, 13:42and cast them into a furnace of fire; and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13:43Then the righteous shall shine out like the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. He that has ears, let him hear.
7 13:44The 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. 13:45Again; the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 13:46who, finding one very costly, went and sold all that he had and bought it. 13:47Again; the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea, and collecting [fish] of every kind, 13:48which, when it was full, men drew to the shore, and sifting down put up the good in vessels and cast the bad away. 13:49So shall it be at the consummation of the world. The angels shall come forth and separate the evil from the midst of the good, 13:50and cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13:51Have you understood all these thing? They said to him, Yes, Lord. 13:52And 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.
8 13:53And when Jesus had finished these parables he departed thence, 13:54and coming to his