The Life of Jesus

and the sun having risen they were scorched, and through not having root, they withered,

and others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns did come up and choke them,

and others fell upon the good ground, and were giving fruit, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.

He who is having ears to hear--let him hear.'

And the disciples having come near, said to him, `Wherefore in similes dost thou speak to them?'

And he answering said to them that--`To you it hath been given to know the secrets of the reign of the heavens, and to these it hath not been given,

for whoever hath, it shall be given to him, and he shall have overabundance, and whoever hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken from him.

`Because of this, in similes do I speak to them, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand,

and fulfilled on them is the prophecy of Isaiah, that saith, With hearing ye shall hear, and ye shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and ye shall not perceive,

for made gross was the heart of this people, and with the ears they heard heavily, and their eyes they did close, lest they might see with the eyes, and with the ears might hear, and with the heart understand, and turn back, and I might heal them.

`And happy are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear,

for verily I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men did desire to see that which ye look on, and they did not see, and to hear that which ye hear, and they did not hear.

`Ye, therefore, hear ye the simile of the sower:

Every one hearing the word of the reign, and not understanding--the evil one doth come, and doth catch that which hath been sown in his heart; this is that sown by the way.

`And that sown on the rocky places, this is he who is hearing the word, and immediately with joy is receiving it,

and he hath not root in himself, but is temporary, and persecution or tribulation having happened because of the word, immediately he is stumbled.

`And that sown toward the thorns, this is he who is hearing the word, and the anxiety of this age, and the deceitfulness of the riches, do choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

`And that sown on the good ground: this is he who is hearing the word, and is understanding, who indeed doth bear fruit, and doth make, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.'

Another simile he set before them, saying: `The reign of the heavens was likened to a man sowing good seed in his field,

and, while men are sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the midst of the wheat, and went away,

and when the herb sprang up, and yielded fruit, then appeared also the darnel.

`And the servants of the householder, having come near, said to him, Sir, good seed didst thou not sow in thy field? whence then hath it the darnel?

And he saith to them, A man, an enemy, did this; and the servants said to him, Wilt thou, then, that having gone away we may gather it up?

`And he said, No, lest--gathering up the darnel--ye root up with it the wheat,

suffer both to grow together till the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the darnel, and bind it in bundles, to burn it, and the wheat gather up into my storehouse.'