Parable of the Sower and Soils

Again (A)He began to teach (B)by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that (C)He got into a boat on the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. And He was teaching them many things in (D)parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And when the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.” And He was saying, (E)He who has ears to hear, [a]let him hear.”

10 As soon as He was alone, [b]His followers, along with the twelve disciples, began asking Him about the parables. 11 And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but for (F)those who are outside, everything comes (G)in parables, 12 so that (H)while seeing they may see, and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear, and not understand, otherwise they might return and it would be forgiven them.”

Explanation of the Parable

13 (I)And He *said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately (J)Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 16 And in a similar way these are the ones sown with seed on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 and yet they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately they [c]fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown with seed among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 but the worries of (K)the [d]world, and the (L)deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter and choke the word, and it [e]becomes unfruitful. 20 And those are the ones sown with seed on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and (M)bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.”

21 And He was saying to them, (N)A lamp is not brought to be put under a [f]basket, or under a bed, is it? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? 22 (O)For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. 23 (P)If anyone has ears to hear, [g]let him hear.” 24 And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. [h](Q)By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. 25 (R)For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Mark 4:9 Or hear! or listen!
  2. Mark 4:10 Lit those about Him
  3. Mark 4:17 I.e., from the faith
  4. Mark 4:19 Or age
  5. Mark 4:19 Or proves to be unfruitful
  6. Mark 4:21 Lit peck-measure
  7. Mark 4:23 Or hear! or listen!
  8. Mark 4:24 Lit By what measure you measure

Jesus Teaches in Parables

13 On that day Jesus had gone out of (A)the house and was sitting (B)by the sea. And large crowds gathered to Him, so (C)He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

And He told them many things in (D)parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil. But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell [a]among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a (E)hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much. (F)The one who has ears, [b]let him hear.”

An Explanation for Parables

10 And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 And [c]Jesus answered them, (G)To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12 (H)For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while (I)seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And [d]in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

[e](J)You shall keep on listening, [f]but shall not understand;
And [g]you shall keep on looking, [h]but shall not perceive;
15 (K)For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their heart, and return,
And I would heal them.’

16 (L)But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 For truly I say to you that (M)many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Sower Explained

18 (N)Listen then to the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears (O)the [i]word of the kingdom and does not understand it, (P)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown with seed beside the road. 20 The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the [j]word, immediately he [k](Q)falls away. 22 And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of (R)the [l]world and the (S)deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it [m]becomes unfruitful. 23 But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some (T)a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 13:7 Lit upon
  2. Matthew 13:9 Or hear! Or listen!
  3. Matthew 13:11 Lit He
  4. Matthew 13:14 Lit for them
  5. Matthew 13:14 Lit With a hearing you shall hear; a Heb idiom
  6. Matthew 13:14 Lit and
  7. Matthew 13:14 Lit Seeing you shall see
  8. Matthew 13:14 Lit and
  9. Matthew 13:19 I.e., message
  10. Matthew 13:21 I.e., message
  11. Matthew 13:21 I.e., from the faith
  12. Matthew 13:22 Or age
  13. Matthew 13:22 Or proves to be unfruitful

Women Support Jesus

Soon afterward, [a]Jesus began going around from one city and village to another, (A)proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, and also (B)some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: (C)Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, (D)Herod’s (E)steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

Parable of the Sower

(F)Now when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: “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 ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky soil, and when it came up, it withered away because it had no moisture. Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. And yet other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as much.” As He said these things, He would call out, (G)The one who has ears to hear, [b]let him hear.”

(H)Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable [c]meant. 10 And He said, (I)To you it has been granted to know the [d]mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so that [e](J)while seeing they may not see, and [f]while hearing they may not understand.

11 “Now this is the parable: (K)the seed is the word of God. 12 And those beside the road are the ones who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root; [g]they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation they [h]fall away. 14 And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word [i]with a good and virtuous heart, and hold it firmly, and produce fruit with [j]perseverance.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Luke 8:1 Lit He Himself
  2. Luke 8:8 Or hear! Or listen!
  3. Luke 8:9 Lit was
  4. Luke 8:10 I.e., secrets
  5. Luke 8:10 Or though seeing, they will not
  6. Luke 8:10 Or though hearing, they will not
  7. Luke 8:13 Lit who believe
  8. Luke 8:13 I.e., from the faith
  9. Luke 8:15 Or in
  10. Luke 8:15 Or endurance

Bible Gateway Recommends