And their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and they understand with their hearts, and turn so that I should heal them.' 16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. 18 "Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 But he who received the seed on rocky places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. And when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But the one who received seed on the good soil is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." 24 Another parable he put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 So when the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' 28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them up?' 29 But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the weeds you also root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers. Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'" 31 Another parable he put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." 33 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour till it was all leavened." 34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowd in parables; and without a parable he did not speak to them. 35 So was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world." 36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. And his