The Parable of the Sower^(A)

13 On the same day Jesus went out of the house ^(B)and sat by the sea. ^2 (C)And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that ^(D)He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

³ Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: ^(E)“Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. ⁶ But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. ⁸ But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some ^(F)a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ^9 (G)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Purpose of Parables^(H)

¹⁰ And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

¹¹ He answered and said to them, “Because ^(I)it has been given to you to know the ^[a]mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ^12 (J)For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.