Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Luke C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24
Luke 8 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51 V53 V55
OET (OET-LV) And the ones on the rock, who whenever they_may_hear with joy are_receiving the message, and these are_ not _having a_root, who for a_time are_believing, and in the_time of_temptation they_are_withdrawing_from.
OET (OET-RV) The seeds among the rocks are those who happily accept the message but don’t put down any roots, so they believe for a short time, and then when temptations come, they pull back from God.
In 8:9–10 Jesus explained why he taught in parables. Then in 8:11–15 he explained the meaning of the parable in 8:1–8b. The basic meaning of Jesus’ explanation is clear. However, there are questions about the meaning of the seed in this section. In 8:11 the seed refers to the word of God. In 8:12–15 what is sown seems to refer to the people who hear the word. This has led to several interpretations for the seed in 8:12–15.
The interpretation that the Notes follows is that in 8:12–15 the seed continues to represent the word. The introductory expressions such as “those on/beside/in…are…” (RSV) refer generally to four different ways in which people hear and respond to the word.
Many scholars support this interpretation in their commentaries. In some versions the seed appears to refer to the people. However, even in these versions, the text implies that the seed of the word has different results in different kinds of people.
Here is the meaning of the main metaphors in the parable:
The seeds represent the word, which is the message from God.
The sowing of the seed represents telling the message to people.
The different kinds of soil represent the way different people hear the message.
This section heading should be similar to the section heading for 8:1–10. You may use the word “explained” or “Jesus explained” (instead of “Jesus told”).
Some other possible headings for this section are:
Jesus explained the parable of the sower and the soils
The parable/story/illustration about the four soils explained
The explanation of the parable about four kinds of people
The meaning of the parable of a man scattering seed
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 13:18–23 and Mark 4:13–20.
The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy,
The example/picture of the seeds that fell on rock represents other people who gladly accept the word of God when they hear it.
The seeds scattered on the ground that had rock underneath illustrate people who hear God’s message and happily receive/believe it.
The seeds on rocky ground are those: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as The seeds on rocky ground are those introduces what happens when seeds fall on ground that has solid rock underneath. This general situation, not just the seeds, represents people who hear God’s message. Some ways to translate this are:
When seeds fall on the rock, it is like when people hear God’s message…
The picture of the seeds scattered on the rock represent the kind of people who hear God’s message…
See the note at 8:6a for ways to translate on rocky ground. Translate this phrase in the same way as you did at 8:6a.
who hear the word and receive it with joy: In some languages it may be helpful to change the order of events here. For example:
who joyfully accept the word when they hear it
receive it with joy: The Greek expression that the BSB translates as receive it with joy means “are happy to accept/believe God’s message.”
but they have no root.
But they are like plants with no roots.
But these people are unstable/changeable.
but: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates here as but is often translated as “and” in English. However, here it introduces something that is the opposite of what one might expect from the previous verse part. That is the reason why most English versions translate it as “but” in this context. Translate this connection in a way that is natural in your language.
they have no root: Here Jesus compared the people to the plants on the rock that could not develop strong roots. For these people, the phrase have no root is a figure of speech. It probably means that they are not stable or firm in believing the word (8:13c).
Some ways to translate this figure of speech are:
Translate this as a simile:
they are like plants without roots
they are unstable like plants without roots
Translate only the meaning of the phrase:
they are unstable
they are changeable
They believe for a season,
They believe God’s message for a short time,
They believe for a season: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as They believe for a season indicates that these people believe God’s message for a short time.
believe: The word believe is the same word as in 8:12c. See the note there for translation advice.
but in the time of testing, they fall away.
but when difficult things happen that test how much they believe, they stop believing.
but when they have trouble/problems, they turn away from following God’s message.
in the time of testing: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as in the time of testing means “when they are tested” or “when hard things happen to them.” Sad or difficult things that happen to these people test whether they truly believe. If they continue to believe the word and act on it even when they are tested, they prove that they really believe.
they fall away: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as they fall away means “they stop believing.”
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
οἱ δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς πέτρας, οἳ
the_‹ones› (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἱ Δέ ἐπί τῆς πέτρας οἵ ὅταν ἀκούσωσιν μετά χαρᾶς δέχονται τόν λόγον καί οὗτοι ῥίζαν οὐκ ἔχουσιν οἵ πρός καιρόν πιστεύουσιν καί ἐν καιρῷ πειρασμοῦ ἀφίστανται)
Jesus continues to explain the figurative meanings of the seeds that fell in different places. Alternate translation: [In the parable, the seeds that fell on the rocky soil represent people]
τῆς πέτρας
the rock
Alternate translation: [the rocky soil] or [the shallow soil above the rocky layer]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
μετὰ χαρᾶς δέχονται τὸν λόγον
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἱ Δέ ἐπί τῆς πέτρας οἵ ὅταν ἀκούσωσιν μετά χαρᾶς δέχονται τόν λόγον καί οὗτοι ῥίζαν οὐκ ἔχουσιν οἵ πρός καιρόν πιστεύουσιν καί ἐν καιρῷ πειρασμοῦ ἀφίστανται)
Jesus uses the term word to refer to the message that people share by using words. Alternate translation: [who … gladly believe the message]
ἐν καιρῷ πειρασμοῦ
in ˓the˒_time ˱of˲_temptation
Alternate translation: [when they experience hardship]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
ἀφίστανται
˱they˲_˓are˒_withdrawing_from
Jesus is using the way such people go away from the community of believers to mean that they stop believing. Alternate translation: [they stop believing] or [they stop being disciples]
8:13 Deep roots indicate spiritual depth and maturity. The Greek word translated temptation can also mean “testing” or “trials.”
OET (OET-LV) And the ones on the rock, who whenever they_may_hear with joy are_receiving the message, and these are_ not _having a_root, who for a_time are_believing, and in the_time of_temptation they_are_withdrawing_from.
OET (OET-RV) The seeds among the rocks are those who happily accept the message but don’t put down any roots, so they believe for a short time, and then when temptations come, they pull back from God.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
Open Bible Data site copyright © 2023–2026 Freely-Given.org.
Python source code for creating these static pages is available on GitHub under an open licence.
For Bible data copyrights, see the details for each displayed Bible version.
The Open English Translation (OET) main site is at OpenEnglishTranslation.Bible or OET.Bible.