¹ On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. ²And 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. ³And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow, ⁴and while he was sowing, ⌞some seed⌟ fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and devoured it. ⁵And 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. ⁶But when the sun rose it was scorched, and because it did not have enough root, it withered. ⁷And other seed fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it. ⁸But other seed fell on the good soil and produced grain, this one a hundred times as much and this one sixty and this one thirty. ⁹The one who has ears, let him hear!”

¹⁸ “You, therefore, listen to the parable of the sower: ¹⁹When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown on the side of the path. ²⁰And what was sown on the rocky ground—this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. ²¹But he does not have a root in himself, but ⌞lasts only a little while⌟, and when affliction or persecution happens because of the word, immediately he falls away. ²²And what was sown into the thorn plants—this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of this world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unproductive. ²³But what was sown on the good soil—this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, this one a hundred times as much, and this one sixty, and this one thirty.”