parables

¹¹And he said: “A certain man had two sons. ¹²And the younger of them said to the father, ‘Father, give me the portion of your estate which would go to me.’ And he divided the estate between them. ¹³And after not many days, the younger son, gathering it all together, set out on a long journey to a distant region. And there, he dissipated his substance, living in luxury. ¹⁴And after he had consumed it all, a great famine occurred in that region, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵And he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that region. And he sent him to his farm, in order to feed the swine. ¹⁶And he wanted to fill his belly with the scraps that the swine ate. But no one would give it to him.

²³Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a man who was king, who wanted to take account of his servants. ²⁴And when he had begun taking account, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵But since he did not have any way to repay it, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children, and all that he had, in order to repay it. ²⁶But that servant, falling prostrate, begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay it all to you.’ ²⁷Then the lord of that servant, being moved with pity, released him, and he forgave his debt. ²⁸But when that servant departed, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarius. And taking hold of him, he choked him, saying: ‘Repay what you owe.’

¹And responding, Jesus again spoke to them in parables, saying: ²“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who was king, who celebrated a wedding for his son. ³And he sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding. But they were not willing to come. ⁴Again, he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell the invited: Behold, I have prepared my meal. My bulls and fatlings have been killed, and all is ready. Come to the wedding.’ ⁵But they ignored this and they went away: one to his country estate, and another to his business. ⁶Yet truly, the rest took hold of his servants and, having treated them with contempt, killed them.

¹⁹A certain man was wealthy, and he was clothed in purple and in fine linen. And he feasted splendidly every day. ²⁰And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, covered with sores, ²¹wanting to be filled with the crumbs which were falling from the wealthy man’s table. But no one gave it to him. And even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²²Then it happened that the beggar died, and he was carried by the Angels into the bosom of Abraham. Now the wealthy man also died, and he was entombed in Hell. ²³Then lifting up his eyes, while he was in torments, he saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. ²⁴And crying out, he said: ‘Father Abraham, take pity on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to refresh my tongue. For I am tortured in this fire.’

³And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow seed. ⁴And while he was sowing, some fell beside the road, and the birds of the air came and ate it. ⁵Then others fell in a rocky place, where they did not have much soil. And they sprung up promptly, because they had no depth of soil. ⁶But when the sun rose up, they were scorched, and because they had no roots, they withered. ⁷Still others fell among thorns, and the thorns increased and suffocated them. ⁸Yet some others fell upon good soil, and they produced fruit: some one hundred fold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold.

³⁰Then Jesus, taking this up, said: “A certain man descended from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he happened upon robbers, who now also plundered him. And inflicting him with wounds, they went away, leaving him behind, half-alive. ³¹And it happened that a certain priest was descending along the same way. And seeing him, he passed by. ³²And similarly a Levite, when he was near the place, also saw him, and he passed by. ³³But a certain Samaritan, being on a journey, came near him. And seeing him, he was moved by mercy. ³⁴And approaching him, he bound up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. And setting him on his pack animal, he brought him to an inn, and he took care of him. ³⁵And the next day, he took out two denarii, and he gave them to the proprietor, and he said: ‘Take care of him. And whatever extra you will have spent, I will repay to you at my return.’

¹“The kingdom of heaven is like the father of a family who went out in early morning to lead workers into his vineyard. ²Then, having made an agreement with the workers for one denarius per day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace. ⁴And he said to them, ‘You may go into my vineyard, too, and what I will give you will be just.’ ⁵So they went forth. But again, he went out about the sixth, and about the ninth hour, and he acted similarly. ⁶Yet truly, about the eleventh hour, he went out and found others standing, and he said to them, ‘Why have you stood here idle all day?’

²⁴He proposed another parable to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while the men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds amid the wheat, and then went away. ²⁶And when the plants had grown, and had produced fruit, then the weeds also appeared. ²⁷So the servants of the Father of the family, approaching, said to him: ‘Lord, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then how is it that it has weeds?’ ²⁸And he said to them, ‘A man who is an enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Is it your will that we should go and gather them up?’ ²⁹And he said: ‘No, lest perhaps in gathering the weeds, you might also root out the wheat together with it.

⁴⁴The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man finds it, he hides it, and, because of his joy, he goes and sells everything that he has, and he buys that field. ⁴⁵Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking good pearls. ⁴⁶Having found one pearl of great value, he went away and sold all that he had, and he bought it. ⁴⁷Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea, which gathers together all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸When it has been filled, drawing it out and sitting beside the shore, they selected the good into vessels, but the bad they threw away. ⁴⁹So shall it be at the consummation of the age. The Angels shall go forth and separate the bad from the midst of the just.

¹“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be like ten virgins, who, taking their lamps, went out to meet the groom and the bride. ²But five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. ³For the five foolish, having brought their lamps, did not take oil with them. ⁴Yet truly, the prudent ones brought the oil, in their containers, with the lamps. ⁵Since the bridegroom was delayed, they all fell asleep, and they were sleeping. ⁶But in the middle of the night, a cry went out: ‘Behold, the groom is arriving. Go out to meet him.’

³And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow seed. ⁴And while he was sowing, some fell beside the road, and the birds of the air came and ate it. ⁵Then others fell in a rocky place, where they did not have much soil. And they sprung up promptly, because they had no depth of soil. ⁶But when the sun rose up, they were scorched, and because they had no roots, they withered. ⁷Still others fell among thorns, and the thorns increased and suffocated them. ⁸Yet some others fell upon good soil, and they produced fruit: some one hundred fold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold.

¹⁶Then he spoke to them using a comparison, saying: “The fertile land of a certain wealthy man produced crops. ¹⁷And he thought within himself, saying: ‘What should I do? For I have nowhere to gather together my crops.’ ¹⁸And he said: ‘This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones. And into these, I will gather all the things that have been grown for me, as well as my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul: Soul, you have many goods, stored up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, and be cheerful.’ ²⁰But God said to him: ‘Foolish one, this very night they require your soul of you. To whom, then, will those things belong, which you have prepared?’ ²¹So it is with him who stores up for himself, and is not wealthy with God.”

¹⁶So he said to him: “A certain man prepared a great feast, and he invited many. ¹⁷And he sent his servant, at the hour of the feast, to tell the invited to come; for now everything was ready. ¹⁸And at once they all began to make excuses. The first said to him: ‘I bought a farm, and I need to go out and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’ ¹⁹And another said: ‘I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to examine them. I ask you to excuse me.’ ²⁰And another said, ‘I have taken a wife, and therefore I am not able to go.’ ²¹And returning, the servant reported these things to his lord. Then the father of the family, becoming angry, said to his servant: ‘Go out quickly into the streets and neighborhoods of the city. And lead here the poor, and the disabled, and the blind, and the lame.’

²⁴He proposed another parable to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while the men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds amid the wheat, and then went away. ²⁶And when the plants had grown, and had produced fruit, then the weeds also appeared. ²⁷So the servants of the Father of the family, approaching, said to him: ‘Lord, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then how is it that it has weeds?’ ²⁸And he said to them, ‘A man who is an enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Is it your will that we should go and gather them up?’ ²⁹And he said: ‘No, lest perhaps in gathering the weeds, you might also root out the wheat together with it.

²⁶And he said: “The kingdom of God is like this: it is as if a man were to cast seed on the land. ²⁷And he sleeps and he arises, night and day. And the seed germinates and grows, though he does not know it. ²⁸For the earth bears fruit readily: first the plant, then the ear, next the full grain in the ear. ²⁹And when the fruit has been produced, immediately he sends out the sickle, because the harvest has arrived.”

¹Now he also told them a parable, that we should continually pray and not cease, ²saying: “There was a certain judge in a certain city, who did not fear God and did not respect man. ³But there was a certain widow in that city, and she went to him, saying, ‘Vindicate me from my adversary.’ ⁴And he refused to do so for a long time. But afterwards, he said within himself: ‘Even though I do not fear God, nor respect man, ⁵yet because this widow is pestering me, I will vindicate her, lest by returning, she may, in the end, wear me out.’ ” ⁶Then the Lord said: “Listen to what the unjust judge said.

²⁹But since he wanted to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰Then Jesus, taking this up, said: “A certain man descended from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he happened upon robbers, who now also plundered him. And inflicting him with wounds, they went away, leaving him behind, half-alive. ³¹And it happened that a certain priest was descending along the same way. And seeing him, he passed by. ³²And similarly a Levite, when he was near the place, also saw him, and he passed by. ³³But a certain Samaritan, being on a journey, came near him. And seeing him, he was moved by mercy. ³⁴And approaching him, he bound up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. And setting him on his pack animal, he brought him to an inn, and he took care of him.

³⁵in order to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, saying: “I will open my mouth in parables. I will proclaim what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”