The Parable of the Sower

13 On that day Jesus went out of the house and[fn] was sitting by the sea.[fn] 2 And large crowds gathered close around him, so that he got into a boat to sit down, and all the crowd was standing on the shore. 3 And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow, 4 and while he was sowing, some seed[fn] fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and[fn] devoured it. 5 And other seed fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once because it did not have any depth of soil. 6 But when[fn] the sun rose it was scorched, and because it did not have enough root, it withered. 7 And other seed fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it. 8 But other seed fell on the good soil and produced grain,[fn] this one a hundred times as much and this one sixty and this one thirty. 9 The one who has ears, let him hear!”