Bible in Basic English
But a blessing be on your eyes, because they see; and on your ears, because they are open.
For truly, I say to you that prophets and upright men had a desire to see the things which you see, and saw them not; and to have knowledge of the words which have come to your ears, and they had it not.
Give ear, then, to the story of the man who put the seed in the earth.
When the word of the kingdom comes to anyone, and the sense of it is not clear to him, then the Evil One comes, and quickly takes away that which was put in his heart. He is the seed dropped by the wayside.
And that which went on the stones, this is he who, hearing the word, straight away takes it with joy;
But having no root in himself, he goes on for a time; and when trouble comes or pain, because of the word, he quickly becomes full of doubts.
And that which was dropped among the thorns, this is he who has the word; and the cares of this life, and the deceits of wealth, put a stop to the growth of the word and it gives no fruit.
And the seed which was put in good earth, this is he who gives ear to the word, and gets the sense of it; who gives fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times as much.
And he gave them another story, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who put good seed in his field:
But while men were sleeping, one who had hate for him came and put evil seeds among the grain, and went away.
But when the green stem came up and gave fruit, the evil plants were seen at the same time.
And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, Sir, did you not put good seed in your field? how then has it evil plants?
And he said, Someone has done this in hate. And the servants say to him, Is it your pleasure that we go and take them up?
But he says, No, for fear that by chance while you take up the evil plants, you may be rooting up the grain with them.
Let them come up together till the getting in of the grain; and then I will say to the workers, Take up first the evil plants, and put them together for burning: but put the grain into my store-house.
He put another story before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and put in his field:
Which is smaller than all seeds; but when it has come up it is greater than the plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and make their resting-places in its branches.
Another story he gave to them: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and put in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.
All these things Jesus said to the people in the form of stories; and without a story he said nothing to them:
That it might come true which was said by the prophet, Opening my mouth, I will give out stories; I will give knowledge of things kept secret from before all time.
Then he went away from the people, and went into the house; and his disciples came to him, saying, Make clear to us the story of the evil plants in the field.
And he made answer and said, He who puts the good seed in the earth is the Son of man;
And the field is the world; and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom; and the evil seeds are the sons of the Evil One;
And he who put them in the earth is Satan; and the getting in of the grain is the end of the world; and those who get it in are the angels.
As then the evil plants are got together and burned with fire, so will it be in the end of the world.
The Son of man will send out his angels, and they will take out of his kingdom everything which is a cause of error, and all those who do wrong,
And will put them into the fire; there will be weeping and cries of sorrow.
Then will the upright be shining as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him give ear.
The kingdom of heaven is like a secret store of wealth in a field, which a man came across and put back again; and in his joy he goes and gives all he has, to get that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader searching for beautiful jewels.
And having come across one jewel of great price, he went and gave all he had in exchange for it.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net, which was put into the sea and took in every sort of fish:
When it was full, they took it up on the sands; and seated there they put the good into vessels, but the bad they put away.
So will it be in the end of the world: the angels will come and take out the bad from the good,
And will put them into the fire: there will be weeping and cries of sorrow.
Are all these things now clear to you? They say to him, Yes.
And he said to them, For this reason every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house, who gives out from his store things new and old.
And when Jesus had come to the end of these stories he went away from there.
And coming into his country, he gave them teaching in their Synagogue, so that they were greatly surprised and said, Where did this man get this wisdom and these works of power?
Is not this the woodworker's son? is not his mother named Mary? and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
And his sisters, are they not all with us? from where, then, has he all these things?
And they were bitter against him. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is nowhere without honour but in his country and among his family.
And the works of power which he did there were small in number because they had no faith.
— Matthew 13:16-1964, Bible in Basic English
“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. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares 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? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 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 parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed 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. Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that 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: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? 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, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. ”
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. For, amen, I say to you, many prophets and just men have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them: and to hear the things that you hear and have not heard them. Hear you therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, there cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart: this is he that received the seed by the way side. And he that received the seed upon stony ground, is he that heareth the word, and immediately receiveth it with joy. Yet hath he not root in himself, but is only for a time: and when there ariseth tribulation and persecution because of the word, he is presently scandalized. And he that received the seed among thorns, is he that heareth the word, and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choketh up the word, and he becometh fruitless. But he that received the seed upon good ground, is he that heareth the word, and understandeth, and beareth fruit, and yieldeth the one an hundredfold, and another sixty, and another thirty. Another parable he proposed to them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seed in his field. But while men were asleep, his enemy came and oversowed cockle among the wheat and went his way. And when the blade was sprung up, and had brought forth fruit, then appeared also the cockle. And the servants of the good man of the house coming said to him. Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? Whence then hath it cockle? And he said to them: An enemy hath done this. And the servants said to him: Wilt thou that we go and gather it up? And he said: No, lest perhaps gathering up the cockle, you root up the wheat also together with it. Suffer both to grow until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers: Gather up first the cockle, and bind it into bundles to burn, but the wheat gather ye into my barn. Another parable he proposed unto them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. Which is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown up, it is greater than all herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come, and dwell in the branches thereof. Another parable he spoke to them: The kingdom of heaven is like to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened. All these things Jesus spoke in parables to the multitudes: and without parables he did not speak to them. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world. Then having sent away the multitudes, he came into the house, and his disciples came to him, saying: Expound to us the parable of the cockle of the field. Who made answer and said to them: He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man. And the field is the world. And the good seed are the children of the kingdom. And the cockle are the children of the wicked one. And the enemy that sowed them, is the devil. But the harvest is the end of the world. And the reapers are the angels. Even as cockle therefore is gathered up, and burnt with fire: so shall it be at the end of the world. The Son of man shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all scandals, and them that work iniquity. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the just shine as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field. Which a man having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant seeking good pearls. Who when he had found one pearl of great price, went his way, and sold all that he had, and bought it. Again the kingdom of heaven is like to a net cast into the sea, and gathering together of all kinds of fishes. Which, when it was filled, they drew out, and sitting by the shore, they chose out the good into vessels, but the bad they cast forth. So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have ye understood all these things? They say to him: Yes. He said unto them: Therefore every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven, is like to a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things and old. And it came to pass: when Jesus had finished these parables, he passed from thence. And coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogues, so that they wondered and said: How came this man by this wisdom and miracles? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Jude: And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence therefore hath he all these things? And they were scandalized in his regard. But Jesus said to them: A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he wrought not many miracles there, because of their unbelief. ”
For this reason I put things into the form of stories; because they see without seeing, and give ear without hearing, and the sense is not clear to them.
And for them the words of Isaiah have come true, Though you give ear, you will not get knowledge; and seeing, you will see, but the sense will not be clear to you:
For the heart of this people has become fat and their ears are slow in hearing and their eyes are shut; for fear that they might see with their eyes and give hearing with their ears and become wise in their hearts and be turned again to me, so that I might make them well.
But a blessing be on your eyes, because they see; and on your ears, because they are open.
For truly, I say to you that prophets and upright men had a desire to see the things which you see, and saw them not; and to have knowledge of the words which have come to your ears, and they had it not.
Give ear, then, to the story of the man who put the seed in the earth.
When the word of the kingdom comes to anyone, and the sense of it is not clear to him, then the Evil One comes, and quickly takes away that which was put in his heart. He is the seed dropped by the wayside.
And that which went on the stones, this is he who, hearing the word, straight away takes it with joy;
But having no root in himself, he goes on for a time; and when trouble comes or pain, because of the word, he quickly becomes full of doubts.
And that which was dropped among the thorns, this is he who has the word; and the cares of this life, and the deceits of wealth, put a stop to the growth of the word and it gives no fruit.
And the seed which was put in good earth, this is he who gives ear to the word, and gets the sense of it; who gives fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times as much.
And he gave them another story, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who put good seed in his field:
But while men were sleeping, one who had hate for him came and put evil seeds among the grain, and went away.
But when the green stem came up and gave fruit, the evil plants were seen at the same time.
And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, Sir, did you not put good seed in your field? how then has it evil plants?
And he said, Someone has done this in hate. And the servants say to him, Is it your pleasure that we go and take them up?
But he says, No, for fear that by chance while you take up the evil plants, you may be rooting up the grain with them.
Let them come up together till the getting in of the grain; and then I will say to the workers, Take up first the evil plants, and put them together for burning: but put the grain into my store-house.
He put another story before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and put in his field:
Which is smaller than all seeds; but when it has come up it is greater than the plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and make their resting-places in its branches.
Another story he gave to them: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and put in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.
All these things Jesus said to the people in the form of stories; and without a story he said nothing to them:
That it might come true which was said by the prophet, Opening my mouth, I will give out stories; I will give knowledge of things kept secret from before all time.
Then he went away from the people, and went into the house; and his disciples came to him, saying, Make clear to us the story of the evil plants in the field.
And he made answer and said, He who puts the good seed in the earth is the Son of man;
And the field is the world; and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom; and the evil seeds are the sons of the Evil One;
And he who put them in the earth is Satan; and the getting in of the grain is the end of the world; and those who get it in are the angels.
As then the evil plants are got together and burned with fire, so will it be in the end of the world.
The Son of man will send out his angels, and they will take out of his kingdom everything which is a cause of error, and all those who do wrong,
And will put them into the fire; there will be weeping and cries of sorrow.
Then will the upright be shining as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him give ear.
The kingdom of heaven is like a secret store of wealth in a field, which a man came across and put back again; and in his joy he goes and gives all he has, to get that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader searching for beautiful jewels.
And having come across one jewel of great price, he went and gave all he had in exchange for it.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net, which was put into the sea and took in every sort of fish:
When it was full, they took it up on the sands; and seated there they put the good into vessels, but the bad they put away.
So will it be in the end of the world: the angels will come and take out the bad from the good,
And will put them into the fire: there will be weeping and cries of sorrow.
Are all these things now clear to you? They say to him, Yes.
And he said to them, For this reason every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house, who gives out from his store things new and old.
And when Jesus had come to the end of these stories he went away from there.
And coming into his country, he gave them teaching in their Synagogue, so that they were greatly surprised and said, Where did this man get this wisdom and these works of power?
Is not this the woodworker's son? is not his mother named Mary? and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
And his sisters, are they not all with us? from where, then, has he all these things?
And they were bitter against him. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is nowhere without honour but in his country and among his family.
And the works of power which he did there were small in number because they had no faith.