The Parable of the Sower

(Matthew 13:1–9; Luke 8:4–8)

4 [Once] again [Jesus] began to teach beside the sea, and [such] a large crowd gathered around Him that He got into a boat [and] sat in [it], while all the people crowded along the shore.

2 And He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said, 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 And as he was sowing, some [seed] fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

5 Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun rose, [the seedlings] were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

7 Other [ seed ] fell among thorns, [which] grew up and choked [the seedlings], and [they] yielded no crop.

8 Still other [seed] fell on good soil, [where it] sprouted, grew up, and produced a crop—one bearing thirtyfold, another sixtyfold, and another a hundredfold.”

9 Then [Jesus] said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”