The Parable of the Sower

13 On that day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea, 2 and large crowds gathered around him. So he got into [fn]the boat and sat down, while the entire crowd stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 As he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up immediately because they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched. And because they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 But other seeds fell on good soil and produced fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times more than what was sown. 9 He who has ears [fn]to hear, let him hear.”