LUKE 8:5 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) “One day a farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he spread the seeds, some of them fell along the path where they got trampled on, and the birds ate them.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT “The sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky devoured it.

UST “A farmer went out to plant some grain seeds. As he was scattering them over the soil, some of the seeds fell onto the hard pathway. People stepped on those seeds, and birds ate them all up.

BSB “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.

BLB "The one sowing went out to sow his seed. And in his sowing, some indeed fell along the road, and it was trampled upon, and the birds of the air devoured it.

AICNT “The sower went out to sow his seed. And while [he was][fn] sowing, some fell by the road and was trampled, and the birds [of the sky][fn] ate {it}.[fn]

8:5, he was: Absent from D(05).

8:5, of the sky: Absent in some manuscripts. D(05) W(032) Latin(a b e ff² it) Syriac(sy^s sy^c sy^p).

8:5, it: Some manuscripts read “them.” 𝔓75 B(03)

OEB ‘The sower went out to sow his seed; and, as he was sowing, some of the seed fell along the path and was trodden on; and the wild birds ate it up.

WEBBE “The farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the road, and it was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled on, and the wild birds devoured it.

LSV “The sower went forth to sow his seed, and in his sowing some indeed fell beside the way, and it was trodden down, and the birds of the sky devoured it.

FBV “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he scattered the seed, some fell on the road where people trampled on it and birds ate it up.

TCNT “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some seed fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky devoured it.

T4T “A man went out to his field to sow some seeds. As he was scattering them over the soil, some of the seeds fell on the path. Then people walked on those seeds, and birds ate them.

LEB “The sower went out to sow his seed, and while he was sowing, _⌊some seed_⌋[fn] fell on the side of the path and was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it.

8:5 Literally “some of which”

BBE A man went out to put in seed, and while he was doing it, some was dropped by the wayside and it was crushed under foot, and was taken by the birds of heaven.

Moff "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed,
⇔ some seed fell on the road and was trampled down,
⇔ and the wild birds ate it up;

Wymth "The sower," He said, "goes out to sow his seed; and as he sows, some of the seed falls by the way-side, and is trodden upon, or the birds of the air come and peck it up.

ASV The sower went forth to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden under foot, and the birds of the heaven devoured it.

DRA The sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.

YLT 'The sower went forth to sow his seed, and in his sowing some indeed fell beside the way, and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the heaven did devour it.

Drby The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the way, and it was trodden under foot, and the birds of the heaven devoured it up;

RV The sower went forth to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden under foot, and the birds of the heaven devoured it.

SLT The sower went out to sow his seed; and in his sowing, some truly fell by the way, and was trodden down, and the fowls of heaven devoured it.

Wbstr A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.

KJB-1769 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
( A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls/birds of the air devoured it. )

KJB-1611 A Sower went out to sowe his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the wayes side, and it was troden downe, and the foules of the aire deuoured it.
(A Sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the ways side, and it was trodden down, and the fowls/birds of the air devoured it.)

Bshps The sower wet out to sowe his seede: and as he sowed, some fell by the way syde, and it was troden downe, and the foules of the ayre deuoured it vp.
(The sower wet out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and it was trodden down, and the fowls/birds of the air devoured it up.)

Gnva A sower went out to sowe his seede, and as he sowed, some fell by the wayes side, and it was troden vnder feete, and the foules of heauen deuoured it vp.
(A sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some fell by the ways side, and it was trodden under feet, and the fowls/birds of heaven devoured it up. )

Cvdl There wente out a sower to sowe his sede, & whyle he was sowynge, some fell by the waye syde, and was trodde vnder fote, and the foules of the ayre ate it vp.
(There went out a sower to sow his seed, and while he was sowing, some fell by the way side, and was trodde under foot, and the fowls/birds of the air ate it up.)

TNT A sower went out to sowe his seede: and as he sowed some fell by the waye syde and it was troden vnder fete and the foules of the ayre devoured it vp.
(A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed some fell by the way side and it was trodden under feet and the fowls/birds of the air devoured it up. )

Wycl He that sowith, yede out to sowe his seed. And while he sowith, sum fel bisidis the weie, and was defoulid, and briddis of the eir eten it.
(He that soweth/sows, went out to sow his seed. And while he soweth/sows, some fell besides the way, and was defiled, and birds of the heir eaten it.)

Luth Es ging ein Sämann aus, zu säen seinen Samen; und indem er säte, fiel etliches an den Weg und ward vertreten, und die Vögel unter dem Himmel fraßen‘s auf.
(It went a sower out, to/for sow his seed(s); and by he sowed, fell several at/to the way/path/road and what/which vertreten, and the birds under to_him heaven ate_it on/in/to.)

ClVg Exiit qui seminat, seminare semen suum. Et dum seminat, aliud cecidit secus viam, et conculcatum est, et volucres cæli comederunt illud.[fn]
(He_went_out who/which sows, seminare seed his_own. And while sows, something_else fell otherwise/wrongly way/road, and conculcatum it_is, and birds heavens they_ate it/this/that. )

8.5 Secus viam. Via, est cor sedulo malarum cogitationum transitu attritum et arefactum, ne semen verbi possit accipere vel germinare, sed a pessimis cogitationibus conculcatur, et a dæmonibus rapitur. Qui ideo volucres cœli dicuntur, quia cœlestis et spiritualis sunt naturæ, vel quia per ærem discurrunt.

8.5 Secus way/road. Via, it_is heart sedulo of_evil thoughts transitu attritum and arefactum, not seed words can to_receive or germinare, but from very_bad thoughts conculcatur, and from demons rapitur. Who therefore/for_that_reason birds heavens are_said, because heavenly and spiritual are of_nature, or because through to_bem discurrunt.

UGNT ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι τὸν σπόρον αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἐν τῷ σπείρειν αὐτὸν, ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ κατεπατήθη καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατέφαγεν αὐτό.
(exaʸlthen ho speirōn tou speirai ton sporon autou. kai en tōi speirein auton, ho men epesen para taʸn hodon, kai katepataʸthaʸ kai ta peteina tou ouranou katefagen auto.)

SBL-GNT Ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι τὸν σπόρον αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἐν τῷ σπείρειν αὐτὸν ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ κατεπατήθη καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατέφαγεν αὐτό.
(Exaʸlthen ho speirōn tou speirai ton sporon autou. kai en tōi speirein auton ho men epesen para taʸn hodon, kai katepataʸthaʸ kai ta peteina tou ouranou katefagen auto.)

RP-GNT Ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι τὸν σπόρον αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἐν τῷ σπείρειν αὐτόν, ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ κατεπατήθη, καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατέφαγεν αὐτό.
(Exaʸlthen ho speirōn tou speirai ton sporon autou. Kai en tōi speirein auton, ho men epesen para taʸn hodon, kai katepataʸthaʸ, kai ta peteina tou ouranou katefagen auto.)

TC-GNT Ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι τὸν σπόρον αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἐν τῷ σπείρειν αὐτόν, ὃ μὲν ἔπεσε παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ κατεπατήθη, καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατέφαγεν αὐτό.
(Exaʸlthen ho speirōn tou speirai ton sporon autou. Kai en tōi speirein auton, ho men epese para taʸn hodon, kai katepataʸthaʸ, kai ta peteina tou ouranou katefagen auto. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 8:4–8: Jesus told a parable about seeds falling on different types of soil

In this section Jesus told a parable about different types of soil and what happens when seed falls on them. The parable illustrated how different people receive the word of God. In the parable, a man scattered seeds that fell on different types of soil (8:5–8). After Jesus told this parable, he explained why he used parables (8:9–10). He explained the meaning of the parable in 8:11–15. The same parable and discussion are in Matthew 13:3–23 and Mark 4:3–20.

The events in this section probably happened during the period of time that was described in 8:1–3. At that time Jesus was traveling from town to town to preach to people about the kingdom of God.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:

A Story About a Farmer (GW)

Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed (NLT)

Jesus illustrated different ways that people hear the word of God

8:5

In this verse Jesus began his parable. In some languages there may be a certain way to begin a parable. If that is true in your language, consider whether it is natural to begin this parable in that way.

8:5a

“A farmer went out to sow his seed.

“A farmer went out to sow/scatter seeds/grain on his field.
“A man went to his field/garden to sow/plant his grain seeds.
There was once a man who went to his prepared land to plant it by throwing seeds over it.

A farmer went out to sow his seed: The Greek word that the BSB translates as farmer is literally “one who sows/plants (seed).” Some English versions use a more specific term that reflects the Greek form. Others use a general term and allow the verb “sow” to explain what he was doing. This is the first time the farmer is mentioned in the parable. Introduce him here in a natural way in your language for this context. For example:

A sower went out to sow his seed (RSV)

Once there was a man who went out to sow grain (GNT)

went out to sow his seed: The verb went out indicates that the farmer went to his field. In some languages a word such as out may not be necessary. He went to the place where he hoped to grow grain, and he carried many seeds with him.

sow: The Greek word that the BSB translates as sow refers to throwing seeds to the side and in front of the farmer. This method allowed the farmer to plant a large area quickly. This was a common way in that culture to plant grain seeds. In that culture, farmers did not plant grain seeds by putting them in the ground one by one. It may be helpful to include a picture of a farmer scattering his seeds.

If your readers know that this is the way the Jews planted seeds, they will more easily understand what the parable means. In languages that do not have a word for sow, you may be able to use a descriptive phrase such as:

plant by throwing/scattering

scatter to plant

This method was the normal way for Jewish farmers to plant. It does not describe a foolish farmer. It may be helpful to include a footnote to explain this. For example:

The Jews planted grain seeds by scattering the seeds over ground that the farmer had plowed, or that he would plow afterwards. In this way, the farmer could plant a large area quickly.

seed: The Greek word that the BSB translates as seed here refers to many individual seeds. In many languages, it will be necessary to use the plural form “seeds.” If you use a plural form here, you will also want to use plural pronouns throughout 8:5–8 and 8:11–15 to refer to these seeds. See, for example, the note on “it” at 8:5c.

If you need to say what kind of seed the farmer was planting, here are some suggestions:

Use a general word for grain.
Supply the name of a specific crop that people farmed in Israel in New Testament times, such as wheat or barley.
If you do not have a general word for grain and do not have wheat or barley in your area, compare this to something that is commonly grown in your area. For example, if rice or millet is common, you could say:
a farmer went out to plant something like rice/millet

8:5b

And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path,

While he was planting/scattering the seeds, some of them fell on the path.
Some of the seeds that he was scattering landed on a footpath.

And as he was sowing: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as sowing is a form of the same verb that is translated as “sow” in 8:5a. It may be helpful in your language to specify what the farmer sowed. However, the Greek text does not specify this, and it may not be necessary in all languages. Other ways to translate this clause are:

As he was scattering the seed (NIV)

As he scattered it across his field (NLT)

and while he was sowing (JBP)

some seed fell along the path: The word some refers to some of the grain seeds. These seeds fell by accident on the path. Be careful not to use a word or expression that implies that the farmer intended for some of the seeds to fall on the path. Since he was throwing the seeds around, it was natural for a few of the seeds to fall there.

along the path: The Greek word that the BSB translates as along usually means “near,” “beside,” or “alongside.” In this context, it may also mean “on.” English versions show a similar range of meaning. For example:

some fell beside the road (NASB)

some fell on the edge of the path (NJB)

some seed fell on a footpath (NLT)

Several English versions, including the BSB, have “along,” which can mean either “beside” or “upon.” If you have a similar word in your language, you may use that word here. Otherwise use a word with a more specific meaning that is natural in your language. All these meanings fit the parable equally well.

the path: The Greek word that the BSB translates as the path refers to a footpath through or alongside a field. People who walk there trample on the soil and make it hard.

8:5c

where it was trampled, and the birds of the air devoured it.

Later, people stepped on them as they walked by, and birds came down from the sky/air and devoured those seeds.
People walked by and stepped on them, and birds hungrily pecked/ate them.

it was trampled: The passive Greek verb that the BSB translates as it was trampled means “people trampled on it” or “people walked on the seeds.” You may wish to use an active expression such as one of those in your translation.

it: If your word for “seeds” or “grain” is plural in form, be sure to use a plural pronoun here. For example:

they were trampled on

This applies to pronouns that refer to the seeds throughout 8:5–8:

ate it/them up (8:5c)
when it/they came up (8:6b)
which grew up with it/them (8:7b)
It/They came up (8:8b)

the birds of the air: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the birds of the air means “birds that fly in the air.” Since most birds fly in the air, in many languages it may not be natural to describe birds in this way. If this is true in your language, you may leave this phrase implied. For example:

birds (GNT)

Another possibility is to say something such as:

the birds?swooped down from the sky and ate it up

devoured it: The Greek word that the BSB translates as devoured it refers to eating something hungrily and completely. Other ways to say this are:

hungrily ate it all

ate them until they were gone

If you have a specific word or phrase that describes the way that birds eat, such as the English word “pecked,” you could translate in this way:

pecked it hungrily

UTN uW Translation Notes:

ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι τὸν σπόρον αὐτοῦ

came_out (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐξῆλθεν Ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι τόν σπόρον αὐτοῦ Καί ἐν τῷ σπείρειν αὐτόν ὅ μέν ἔπεσεν παρά τήν ὁδόν καί κατεπατήθη καί τά πετεινά τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατέφαγεν αὐτό)

Use either the singular or the plural to translate seed in this story, whichever would be more natural in your language. Alternate translation: [A farmer went out to scatter some seed in a field] or [A farmer went out to scatter some seeds in a field]

ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐξῆλθεν Ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι τόν σπόρον αὐτοῦ Καί ἐν τῷ σπείρειν αὐτόν ὅ μέν ἔπεσεν παρά τήν ὁδόν καί κατεπατήθη καί τά πετεινά τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατέφαγεν αὐτό)

Alternate translation: [some of the seed fell] or [some of the seeds fell]

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

κατεπατήθη

˱it˲_˓was˒_trampled

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this with an active form, and you could state who did the action. Alternate translation: [people walked on it] or [people walked on them]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicitinfo

τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ

In your language, it might seem that this phrase expresses unnecessary extra information. If so, you could abbreviate it. However, you could also use an action clause to keep the sense of sky. Alternate translation: [birds] or [birds flew down and]

κατέφαγεν αὐτό

devoured it

Alternate translation: [ate it all] or [ate them all]

Parallel LUKE 8:5

Section 8:4–8: Jesus told a parable about seeds falling on different types of soil

8:5

8:5a

8:5b

8:5c