World English Bible · Under Rome
Matthew 13
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On that day went out of the house and sat by the seaside. gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat and sat; and all stood on the beach. He spoke to them many things , saying, "Behold, a farmer went out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them. Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn't have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth. When the sun had , they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among . The grew up and choked them. Others fell on good soil and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." came, and said to him, "Why do you speak to them ?" He answered them, "To you it is given to know the of of , but it is not given to them. For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever doesn't have, from him will be taken away even that which he has. Therefore I speak to them , because seeing they don't see, and hearing, they don't hear, neither do they understand. In them the of is fulfilled, which says, 'By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive; for this people's has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their , and would turn again, and I would heal them.' "But are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. For most certainly I tell you that many and men to see the things which you see, and didn't see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn't hear them. "Hear, then, the of the farmer. When anyone hears the word of and doesn't understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away that which has been sown in . This is what was sown by the roadside. What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word and immediately with joy receives it; yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. What was sown among the , this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit and produces, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty." He set another before them, saying, " of is like a man who sowed good in his field, but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and produced grain, then the darnel weeds appeared also. The servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow good in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?' "He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and gather them up?' 29"But he said, 'No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, "First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn."'" He set another before them, saying, " of is like a grain of mustard which a man took, and sowed in his field, which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its ." He spoke another to them. " of is like which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened." spoke all these things to the ; and without , he didn't speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the , saying, "I will open my ; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world." Then sent the away, and went into the house. His came to him, saying, "Explain to us the of the darnel weeds of the field." He answered them, "He who sows the good is , the field is the world, the good seeds are the children of , and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one. who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are . As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with ; so will it be at the end of this age. will send out his , and they will gather out of all things that cause stumbling and those who do , and will cast them into the furnace of . There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then will shine like the sun in of their . He who has ears to hear, let him hear. "Again, of is like hidden in the field, which a man found and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. "Again, of is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls, who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. "Again, of is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some fish of every kind, which, when it was filled, fishermen drew up on the beach. They sat down and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be in the end of the world. The will come and separate from among , and will cast them into the furnace of . There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." said to them, "Have you understood all these things?" They answered him, "Yes, ." He said to them, "Therefore every who has been made in of is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his new and old things." When had finished these , he departed from there. Coming into his own country, he taught them in their , so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this man get this and these mighty works? Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother called , and his brothers , Joses, , and ? 56Aren't all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?" They were offended by him. But said to them, "A is not without , except in his own country and in his own house." He didn't do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.