תולרת

TOL’DOT (GENERATIONS)


Parashat Toledot

Esau and Jacob

19 Now these are the genealogies of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham fathered Isaac. 20 Isaac was 40 years old when he took for himself Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 Isaac prayed to Adonai on behalf of his wife because she was barren. Adonai answered his plea and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

22 But the children struggled with one another inside her, and she said, “If it’s like this, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of Adonai. 23 Adonai said to her:

“Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples from your body
    will be separated.
One people will be stronger
    than the other people,
    but the older will serve the younger.”

24 When her time came to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 Now the first came out reddish, all of him was like a fur coat, and they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding onto Esau’s heel—so he was named Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when he fathered them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a man knowledgeable in hunting, an outdoorsman, while Jacob was a mild man, remaining in tents. 28 Now Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 Now Jacob cooked a stew. When Esau came in from the field, he was exhausted, 30 so Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me some of this really red stuff, because I’m exhausted”—that is why he is called Edom.

31 So Jacob said, “Sell your birthright to me today.”

32 Esau said, “Look, I’m about to die. Of whatever use is this to me—a birthright?”

33 Jacob said, “Make a pledge to me now.”

So he made a pledge to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. [a] 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.

Confirming the Covenant with Isaac

26 Now there was a famine in the land—aside from the previous famine that happened in Abraham’s days. So Isaac went to King Abimelech of the Philistines, to Gerar. Then Adonai appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Dwell in the land about which I tell you. Live as an outsider in this land and I will be with you and bless you—for to you and to your seed I give all these lands—and I will confirm my pledge that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your seed like the stars of the sky and I will give your seed all these lands. And in your seed all the nations of the earth will continually be blessed, because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My mitzvot, My decrees, and My instructions.” So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

Now the men of the place asked about his wife. So he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “my wife”—“or else the men of the place would kill me on account of Rebekah, because she’s good looking.”

Now after he had been there for a long time, King Abimelech of the Philistines peered down through the window and saw, behold, Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “So in fact she’s your wife! Now how could you say, ‘She’s my sister’?”

Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Or else I might die because of her.’”

10 Then Abimelech said, “What is it that you’ve done to us? One of the people could have easily slept with your wife and you would’ve brought guilt on us.”

11 So Abimelech commanded all the people saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife will surely die!”

Adonai Blesses Isaac

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land and in that year reaped a hundredfold. Adonai blessed him 13 and the man became great and continued to become greater until he became very great. 14 He acquired livestock of sheep and livestock of cattle, and numerous servants. Then the Philistines envied him. 15 All the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham the Philistines stopped up and filled with dirt. 16 So Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much more powerful than us.”

17 So Isaac departed from there, camped in the Valley of Gerar and dwelled there. 18 Then Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham—the Philistines had stopped them up after Abraham’s death. He gave them the same names that his father had given them. 19 Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of living water there. 20 But the shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s shepherds saying, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Quarrel, because they quarreled with him. 21 Then he dug another well and they quarreled over it too, so he named it Accusation. 22 Then he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he named it Wide Spaces and said, “Because now Adonai has created wide spaces for us and we will be fruitful in the land.”

23 He went up from there to Beer-sheba. 24 Adonai appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you, and I will bless you and multiply your seed for the sake of Abraham my servant.”

25 So he built an altar there and called on the Name of Adonai. He pitched his tent there and Isaac’s servants hollowed out a well there.

Covenant of Isaac and Abimelech

26 Now Abimelech went to him from Gerar along with Achuzzat his friend and Phicol the commander of his army. 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and sent me away from you?”

28 They said, “We’ve clearly seen that Adonai has been with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an agreement between us—between us and you—and let us make a covenant with you: 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we haven’t touched you and just as we did nothing to you but good, and sent you away in shalom. You are now blessed by Adonai.”

30 Then he made a feast for them and they ate and drank. 31 Then they got up early in the morning and made a pledge, each to his brother. Then Isaac sent them away and they departed from him in shalom. 32 Now it happened that on that day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well that they dug, and said to him, “We’ve found water.” 33 So he called it Pledge. That is why the city’s name is Beer-sheba to this day.

34 When Esau was 40 years old, he took as wife Judith the daughter of Be-eri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 But they caused a bitterness of spirit for Isaac and Rebekah.

Jacob Tricks Isaac

27 Now it was when Isaac grew old and his eyes were too dim to see, that he called Esau his elder son, and said to him, “My son.”

“Here I am,” he said to him.

“Look, I’m old,” he said. “I don’t know the day of my death. So now, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt me some game. Then prepare me a delicious meal that I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.”

Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac was speaking to Esau his son. So while Esau went to the field to hunt game to bring in, Rebekah said to Jacob her son, “Look, I heard your father speaking to your brother Esau saying, ‘Bring me some game and prepare me a delicious meal that I may eat and bless you in Adonai’s presence before my death.’ So now, my son, listen to my voice, to what I am commanding you. Go now to the flock and bring me two good young goats from there, so that I may prepare them as a delicious meal for your father—that he’ll love. 10 Then you’ll bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before his death.”

11 But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I’m a smooth man. 12 Perhaps my father will touch me, and he’ll take me for a mocker, and I’ll bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.”

13 Then his mother said to him, “Let your curse fall on me, my son. Just listen to me, and go, get them for me.”

14 So he went and got them, and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared a delicious meal that his father would love. 15 Rebekah also took her elder son Esau’s favorite clothes that were with her in the house, and she put them on her younger son Jacob, 16 along with the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the hairless part of his neck. 17 She put the delicious meal and the bread that she had prepared in the hand of Jacob her son.

18 Then he came to his father and said, “My father.”

And he said, “I’m here. Who are you, my son?”

19 Then Jacob said to his father, “I’m your firstborn, Esau. I’ve done just what you said to me. Sit up, please, and eat some of my wild game so that your soul may bless me.”

20 Then Isaac said to his son, “How in the world were you able to find it so quickly, my son?”

He said, “Because Adonai your God made it happen for me.”

21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can feel you my son—whether or not you really are my son Esau.”

22 So Jacob came closer to his father Isaac, and he felt him. Then he said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice but the hands are Esau’s hands.” 23 He did not recognize him because his hands were like the hairy hands of his brother Esau. So he blessed him. 24 But he said, “Are you really my son Esau?”

So he said, “I am.”

25 Then he said, “Bring it to me and I’ll eat some of my son’s wild game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it to him and he ate, and he brought him wine and he drank.

26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come closer and kiss me my son.” 27 So he came closer and kissed him. When he smelled the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said,

“Behold, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field
that Adonai has blessed.
28 May God give you—
from the dew of the sky
and from the fatness of the land—
an abundance of grain and new wine.
29 May peoples serve you
and may nations bow down to you.
Be master over your brothers.
May your mother’s sons bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed
and may those who bless you be blessed.”

30 No sooner had Isaac finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had just gone out from his father Isaac’s presence, than Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 Then he also prepared a delicious meal and brought it to his father, and he said to his father, “Let my father get up and eat of his son’s wild game that your soul may bless me.”

32 His father Isaac said, “Who are you?”

And he said, “I am your son, your first-born, Esau.”

33 Then Isaac trembled with intense trembling and said, “Who was it then that hunted wild game and brought it to me? I ate it all just before you came and I blessed him—and yes, he will be blessed.”

34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he shouted with an intensely bitter groan. Then he said to his father, “Bless me, me too, my father!”

35 Then he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”

36 He said, “Is this why he was named Jacob—since he’s tricked me twice already? My birthright he’s taken. Look! Now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he said, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

37 Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I’ve made him master over you, and all your brothers I’ve given to him as servants. I’ve provided him with grain and new wine. What then can I do for you, my son?”

38 Esau said to his father, “Do you just have one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

39 Then Isaac his father said to him,

“Behold, away from the land’s fatness shall your dwelling be,
    away from the dew of the sky above.
40 By your sword shall you live,
and your brother shall you serve.
But when you tear yourself loose,
you will tear his yoke off your neck.”

41 So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “Let the time for mourning my father draw near, so that I can kill my brother Jacob!”

42 Now to Rebekah was reported the words of Esau her elder son. So she sent and called for Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Look, your brother Esau is consoling himself about you with the thought of killing you. 43 So now my son, listen to my voice. Get up—flee to Laban my brother in Haran! 44 Then stay with him a few days, until your brother’s rage subsides, 45 until your brother’s rage turns away from you and he forgets what you’ve done to him. Then I’ll send for you and get you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m disgusted with my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth like these women, from the daughters of the land what is life to me?”

Jacob Sent to Laban

28 So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, commanded him and said to him, “Don’t take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Get up, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take for yourself a wife from there, from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. Now may El Shaddai bless you, and make you fruitful and multiply you so that you will become an assembly of peoples. And may he give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your seed with you that you may take possession of the land of your sojourn, which God gave to Abraham.”

Then Isaac sent Jacob away and he went toward Paddan-aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. Now Esau saw that Isaac blessed Jacob when he sent him to Paddan-aram to take for himself a wife from there, when he blessed him and commanded him saying, “Don’t take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.” Jacob listened to his father Isaac and to his mother and went toward Paddan-aram. Then Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were contemptible in his father Isaac’s eyes. So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, Nebaioth’s sister for his wife, besides his other wives.


Jacob Loved Adonai

An oracle[a]: The word of Adonai to Israel by Malachi[b].

“I loved you,” says Adonai.
But you say: “How have you loved us?”
“Was Esau not Jacob’s brother?”
—it is the declaration of Adonai
“Yet I loved Jacob and Esau I hated.
I made his hills a wasteland
and gave his inheritance to jackals of the wilderness.”
For Edom may say,
“We have been beaten down,
but we will return and rebuild the ruins.”
Thus Adonai-Tzva’ot says:
“They may rebuild but I will tear down.
They will be called a wicked territory,
the people Adonai denounced forever.
So you will see, and you will say:
‘May Adonai be magnified beyond the border of Israel!’”

Despicable Sacrifices

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. So if I am Father, where is My honor? If I am Master, where is My reverence?”—says Adonai-Tzva’ot—“you, kohanim who despise My Name!”

But you say, “How did we despise Your Name?”

“By offering defiled bread on My altar.” But you say, “How did we defile You?” When you say, “The table of Adonai is despicable.”

“When you bring a blind one as sacrifice, is it not wrong? Or when you bring a lame or sick one, is it not wrong? Offer them now to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Or will he acknowledge you favorably?” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.

“So now, implore God’s favor! Then, will He be gracious to us? Since this has come from your hands, will He accept any of it from you?” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.

10 “If just one of you would shut the doors, and not light My altar uselessly! I have no delight in you,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. “Nor will I accept any offering from your hand.

11 “For from sunrise to its setting[c] My Name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to My Name with a pure grain offering, for My Name will be great among the nations,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.

12 But you are profaning it when you say, “The table of Adonai is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food—despicable!” 13 You also say, “It’s so tedious!”

“And you sniff at it,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. “So you bring plunder, the lame and the sick. Then you bring them as the offering. Should I accept this from your hand?” says Adonai.

14 “Moreover, cursed is a deceiver who has in his flock a male, but makes a vow and sacrifices something blemished to my Lord. For I am a great King,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot, “and My Name shall be revered among the nations.”

Warning to the Kohanim and Levites

“So now, kohanim, this commandment is for you.
If you will not listen,
and if you will not take to heart to give glory to My Name”
—says Adonai-Tzva’ot
“then I will send the curse on you,
and I will curse your blessings.
Yes, indeed I have cursed them,
because you did not take it to heart.
Behold, I am rebuking the seed on account of you,
and will spread dung on your faces
—the dung of your festivals—
and take you away together with it.
Then you will know that I have sent this command to you,
to be My covenant with Levi,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
“My covenant was with him for life and shalom,
and I gave them to him for reverence.
So he revered Me, and he was awestruck by My Name.
Instruction of truth was in his mouth.
Injustice was not found on his lips.
In shalom and uprightness he walked with Me,
and he turned many from iniquity.
For a kohen’s lips should guard knowledge,
and instruction must be sought from his mouth.
For he is a messenger of Adonai-Tzva’ot.


The Role of Israel

I tell the truth in Messiah—I do not lie, my conscience assuring me in the Ruach ha-Kodesh that my sorrow is great and the anguish in my heart unending. For I would pray that I myself were cursed, banished from Messiah for the sake of my people—my own flesh and blood, [a] who are Israelites. To them belong the adoption[b] and the glory[c] and the covenants and the giving of the Torah[d] and the Temple service[e] and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs—and from them, according to the flesh, the Messiah, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen.

But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are Israel, nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s seed; rather, “Your seed shall be called through Isaac.” [f] That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God; rather, the children of the promise are counted as seed. For the word of promise is this: “At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.” [g] 10 And not only this, but also Rebecca having twins, from one act with our father Isaac. 11 Yet before the sons were even born and had not done anything good or bad—so that God’s purpose and choice might stand not because of works but because of Him who calls— 12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” [h] 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[i]

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The Lord of Shabbat

12 At that time Yeshua went through the grain fields on Shabbat. His disciples became hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and eat them. But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not permitted on Shabbat.”

But He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he became hungry, and those with him? How he entered into the house of God, and they ate the showbread, which was not permitted for him to eat, nor for those with him, but only for the kohanim? [a] Or haven’t you read in the Torah that on Shabbat the kohanim in the Temple break Shabbat and yet are innocent? But I tell you that something greater than the Temple is here. If you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’[b] you wouldn’t have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of Shabbat.”

Leaving from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 A man with a withered hand was there. And so that they might accuse Him, they questioned Yeshua, saying, “Is it permitted to heal on Shabbat?”

11 He said to them, “What man among you will not grab his sheep and lift it out, if it falls into a pit on Shabbat? 12 How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is permitted to do good on Shabbat.”

13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out and it was restored, as healthy as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

God’s Chosen Servant Brings Hope

15 Knowing this, Yeshua went away from there. And large crowds followed Him, and He healed them all. 16 And He sternly warned them not to make Him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

18 “Here is My servant whom I chose,
the One I love, in whom My soul takes delight.
I will put My Ruach upon Him,
    and He shall proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out,
nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20 A crushed reed He will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
until He brings forth justice to victory.
21 And in His name the nations shall hope.”[c]

Whose Power Will Rule?

22 Then a demon-plagued man, who was blind and mute, was brought to Yeshua; and He healed him, so that he spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were astounded and saying, “This can’t be Ben-David, can it?”

24 But hearing this, the Pharisees said, “This fellow drives out demons only by beelzebul, the ruler of demons.”

25 Knowing their thoughts, Yeshua said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If satan drives out satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Ruach Elohim, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he will thoroughly plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

31 “For this reason I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Ruach will not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Ruach ha-Kodesh will not be forgiven, neither in this age nor in the one to come.”

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you who are evil say anything good? For from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man from his good treasury brings forth good, and the evil man from his evil treasury brings forth evil. 36 But I tell you that on the Day of Judgment, men will give account for every careless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

A Sign Greater than Jonah

38 Then some of the Torah scholars and Pharisees answered Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

39 But Yeshua replied to them, “An evil and adulterous generation clamors for a sign, yet no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights,[d] so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South[e] will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

43 “Now when an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places looking for rest and doesn’t find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I’ll go back home where I came from.’ And when it comes, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there. And that man’s last condition becomes worse than the first. So also will it be for this evil generation.”

Embrace and Refrain

46 While Yeshua was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers were standing outside, trying to speak to Him. 47 Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, trying to speak to You.”[f]

48 But to the one telling Him this, Yeshua responded, “Who is My mother? And who are My brothers?” 49 Stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Simple Stories, Profound Truths

13 On that day after Yeshua left the house, He was sitting by the sea. And large crowds gathered around Him; so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood on the shore. And He told them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a sower went out to spread some seed. As he was scattering the seed, some seeds fell by the road; and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil. They sprang up immediately, because the soil wasn’t deep. But when the sun came up, they were scorched; and because they had no roots, they withered away. Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew and choked them out. But others fell on good soil and were producing fruit. They yielded a crop—some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears,[g] let him hear.”

10 Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11 And He replied to them, “To you has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given and he will have plenty. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 For this reason I speak to them in parables,

because seeing they do not see,
and hearing they do not hear nor do they understand.

14 “And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘You will keep on hearing
    but will never understand;
you will keep looking,
but will never see.
15 For the heart of this people has become dull,
their ears can barely hear, and they have shut their eyes.
    Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts.
Then they would turn back,
    and I would heal them.’[h]

16 “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 Amen, I tell you, many a prophet and tzaddik longed to see what you are seeing and did not see, and to hear what you are hearing and did not hear.”

Parable of the Sower Explained

18 “You then, hear the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one having been sown along the road.

20 “The one sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 Yet he has no root himself but lasts only a short while; and when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.

22 “But the one sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word; and the worries of the world and the seduction of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

23 “Now the one sown on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands. He indeed bears fruit, yielding a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty times what was sown.”

Yeshua Tells More Parables

24 He presented to them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while the men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 Now when the stalk sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. 27 So the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’ 28 But he replied, ‘An enemy did this.’ Now the slaves say to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go out and gather them up?’ 29 But he says, ‘No, for while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time, I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the weeds and tie them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

31 He presented to them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 It’s the smallest of all seeds; yet when it’s full grown, it’s greater than the other herbs. It becomes like a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”[i]

33 He told them another parable, “The kingdom of heaven is like hametz, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”

34 All these things Yeshua spoke to the crowds in parables. And apart from a parable, He wasn’t speaking to them, 35 in order to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, saying,

“I will open My mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”[j]

36 Then He sent the crowds away and went into the house. His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”

37 He answered, “The one sowing the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world. And the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Therefore just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks[k] and those who practice lawlessness. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace[l]; in that place will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun[m] in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear!

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid. And because of his joy, he goes out and sells all that he has and buys that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46 Upon finding a pearl of great value, he went out and sold all that he had and bought it.

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea, gathering things of every kind. 48 When it was filled, they pulled it ashore; and they sat down and gathered up the good into containers, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth and separate the wicked from among the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace;[n] in that place will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 “Have you understood all these things?”

They said to Him, “Yes.”

52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every Torah scholar discipled for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure both new things and old.”

Unbelief in the Hometown Synagogue

53 Now when Yeshua had finished these parables, He left that place. 54 Coming into His hometown, He began to teach them in their synagogue so that they were amazed. “Where did this fellow get this wisdom and these mighty works?” they said. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother called Miriam, and His brothers Jacob and Joseph and Simon and Judah? 56 And His sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does He get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at Him.

But Yeshua said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own house.” 58 And He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.