Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

Adam and Eve

⁴ This is the account^(A) of the heavens and the earth when they were created,^(B) when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

⁵ Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth^[a] and no plant had yet sprung up,^(C) for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth^(D) and there was no one to work the ground, ⁶ but streams^[b] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed^(E) a man^[c](F) from the dust^(G) of the ground^(H) and breathed into his nostrils the breath^(I) of life,^(J) and the man became a living being.^(K)

⁸ Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden;^(L) and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹ The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees^(M) that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life^(N) and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.^(O)

¹⁰ A river^(P) watering the garden flowed from Eden;^(Q) from there it was separated into four headwaters. ¹¹ The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah,^(R) where there is gold. ¹² (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin^[d](S) and onyx are also there.) ¹³ The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.^{[e] 14} The name of the third river is the Tigris;^(T) it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.^(U)

⁴ While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: ⁵ “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. ⁶ Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”^(A)

⁹ His disciples asked him what this parable meant. ¹⁰ He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you,^(B) but to others I speak in parables, so that,

¹¹ “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.^{(D) 12} Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.^{(E) 14} The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches^(F) and pleasures, and they do not mature. ¹⁵ But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.