18 “So now listen concerning the parable about the person spreading seed. 19 Everyone who hears the message about the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches what was sown in that person’s heart. That’s the seed that landed by the path. 20 The seed that landed on the rocky ground, that’s the person who hears the message and is immediately happy to accept it, 21 but doesn’t have any roots of their own so it’s just fleeting—they stumble as soon as there’s any difficulties or persecution because of the message. 22 The seed the landed among the thorns is the person who hears the message, but the worries of the time and the seduction of wealth chokes out the message and it becomes unfruitful. 23 The seed that landed on the good soil is the person who hears the message and understands it and goes on to bear fruit—some people producing a hundred times more, some sixty times, and some thirty times.”[fn]

13 Then Yeshua said to them, “If you didn’t understand this parable, how will you understand any others? 14 The person spreading seed is spreading the good message, 15 and there are some along the path where the good message is being spread, who hear, but Satan turns up immediately and snatches the message from them. 16 Similarly, there’s some seed that falls onto rocky places where the people who hear the good message happily accept it, 17 but don’t make strong roots—just temporary changes. So when they get mocked or attacked about accepting the good message, they quickly stumble. 18 Others are the ones where the seed was spread among the thistles. They heard the good message, 19 but contemporary topics, or the lure of money, or the appetite for other things, choke their good intentions and the message becomes unfruitful in them. 20 But lastly, the seed that landed on the good soil represents the people who hear the good message, accept it, and are fruitful thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times over.”

11 “So this is what the parable means: the seeds are God’s message. 12 The seeds along the road are those who hear the message, but afterwards the devil comes along and snatches the message away from their hearts, so that they don’t believe or get saved. 13 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. 14 The seeds among the thistles are those who heard the message but get choked under worries and wealth and the good life, and so they never reach maturity. 15 But the seeds in the good soil are those good people with good hearts and after hearing the message, they follow it, and produce fruit from their endurance.