13 And that [same] day Jesus went out from the house and sat down by the sea.

² And great crowds were gathered together to him, so that going on board ship himself he sat down, and the whole crowd stood on the shore.

³ And he spoke to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went out to sow:

⁴ and as he sowed, some [grains] fell along the way, and the birds came and devoured them;

⁵ and others fell upon the rocky places where they had not much earth, and immediately they sprang up out of [the ground] because of not having [any] depth of earth,

⁶ but when the sun rose they were burned up, and because of not having [any] root were dried up;

⁷ and others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them;

⁸ and others fell upon the good ground, and produced fruit, one a hundred, one sixty, and one thirty.

⁹ He that has ears, let him hear.

¹⁰ And the disciples came up and said to him, Why speakest thou to them in parables?

¹¹ And he answering said to them, Because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it is not given;

¹² for whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall be caused to be in abundance; but he who has not, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

¹³ For this cause I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear nor understand;

¹⁴ and in them is filled up the prophecy of Esaias, which says, Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and beholding ye shall behold and not see;

¹⁵ for the heart of this people has grown fat, and they have heard heavily with their ears, and they have closed their eyes as asleep, lest they should see with the eyes, and hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

¹⁶ But blessed are *your* eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear;

¹⁷ for verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous [men] have desired to see the things which ye behold and did not see [them], and to hear the things which ye hear and did not hear [them].

¹⁸ *Ye*, therefore, hear the parable of the sower.

¹⁹ From every one who hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand [it], the wicked one comes and catches away what was sown in his heart: this is he that is sown by the wayside.

²⁰ But he that is sown on the rocky places—this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,

²¹ but has no root in himself, but is for a time only; and when tribulation or persecution happens on account of the word, he is immediately offended.

²² And he that is sown among the thorns—this is he who hears the word, and the anxious care of this life, and the deceit of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

²³ But he that is sown upon the good ground—this is he who hears and understands the word, who bears fruit also, and produces, one a hundred, one sixty, and one thirty.