Matthew - Ferrar Fenton Bible Translation page 1063

13 -16 MATTHEW. 13-·~42 16 {S 20 2I 22 26 28 AND THEIR EYES THEY HAVE cL0sED FEARING THEY sHOULD san WXTH THEIR EYES, ANU HEAR WITH THEIR BARS, AND UNDERSTAND WTTH THEIR HEARTS, AND TURN BACK, AND I WOULD RESTORE THEM. ‘ But your eyes are happy, because they see; and your ears, because they can listen. For I tell you truly, that many prophets and good men have ardeutly desired to see what you see, and have not seen it; and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it. Listen therefore to the parable of the sower. When any one hears the message of the Kingdom of Heaven, and does not comprehend, the Devil comes and snatches what was scattered in his heart. Thus it is with that sown along the roadside. But that sown upon stony land, that is the one who hears the discourse, and accepts it immediately with » pleasure; but being without root in himself, he is therefore temporary: and when trouble or persecution comes against the truth, he at once falls away. Now as to what was sown among the thistlesz that is the one who listens to the message; but the anxieties of this age, and the slavedom of wealth suffo- cate the message, and it becomes fruit- less. Now as to that which falls upon good soil: that is the man who listens to the reason, and comprehends it; he consequently produces grain, it may be to the extent of a hundred, sixty, or thirty·fo1d. Gllyz §mrahiz nf tbz Weeks. Continuing, He put before them

I may compare the Kingdom of Heaven to a man sowing good seed in his field; but while his men were asleep, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds among the wheat, and went away. How- ever, when the plant shot out, and should have produced grain, then the weeds were also seen. Then his ser- vants coming to the farmer, asked perfect seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from? ’ And in reply to them he said, ‘ Some enemy must have done this! His servants then asked, ' Do you wish us to go and pull I Isa. vi. 9. xo. them up?' ‘No!’ was his reply; 29 ‘ lest while you are plucking up the

weeds, you should uproot the wheat along with them. Allow both of 30 them to grow together until the han- vest: and during the harvest I will say to the reapers, First collect the weeds, and bind them into bundles to bum; but store up the wheat into Eb: fumbles nf ily: gusiarh unt the Szmzxdrh luna:. He also told them another parable, 3:‘ 'lIIe Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard, which a man took and sowed in his field. This is the smallest of such seeds; but when it grows up, it is the largest of all garden herbs, and he- comes a bush, so that the birds of the air come and shelter among its branches? He told them another parable:

1`he Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and mixed in three stones of Hour, so that the whole was fermented by it. ®xplmmii¤n of ibn Qnralvlzs. 33

]esus spoke the whole of this to the 34 crowd in parables; and without a parable He seldom spoke to them : so that the statement delivered through the prophet might be fulfilled, which says: I WILL 0PEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL DIG UP WHAT HAS BEEN HIDDEN FROM THE FQUNDA- TION or THE WORLD. Then jesus, sending the crowd

away, went into the house; and His Ex- plain to us the parable of the weeds And replying to them The sewer of the perfect seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; the perfect seed are the sons of the Kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the wicked; while the enemy who sowed them is the Devil ; the harvest is the completion of the age; and thereapers are the angels. ust as they collect the weeds and urn them, so it will be at the end of

this period. The Son of Man will send His messengers, and will collect out of His Kingdom every offensive thing, and whatever causes sin; and Psalm lxxviil. 2. 1063 35 37 39