The Parable of the Sower

(Matthew 13:1–23, Mark 4:1–20)

4 [While] a large crowd was gathering and [people] were coming to [Jesus] from town after town, He told [them] [this] parable: 5 A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some [seed] fell along the path, where it was trampled, and the birds of the air devoured it.

6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, [the seedlings] withered because they had no moisture.

7 Other [seed] fell among thorns, [which] grew up with [it] [and] choked [the seedlings].

8 Still other [seed] fell on good soil, [where] it sprang up [and] produced a crop—a hundredfold.” As [Jesus] said [this], He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

9 Then His disciples asked Him what this parable meant.

10 He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others [I speak] in parables, so that, ‘[though] seeing, they may not see; [though] hearing, they may not understand.’[fn]

11 Now this is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 The [ seeds ][fn] along the path are those who hear, [but] the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe [and] be saved.

13 The [ seeds ] on rocky ground [are] those who hear the word [and] receive it with joy, but [they] have no root. [They] believe for a season, [but] in [the] time of testing, they fall away.

14 The [ seeds that ] fell among the thorns are those who hear, [but] as they go on their way, they are choked by [the] worries, riches, and pleasures of [this] life, and their fruit does not mature.

15 But the [seeds] on good soil are those with a noble and good heart, [who] hear the word, cling to [it], and by persevering produce a crop.