⁵ “The sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the ^[a]air ate it up. ⁶ And other seed fell on rock and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ And other seed fell among the thorns, and when the thorns grew up with it, they choked it out. ⁸ And other seed fell into the good soil; and growing up, it produced a crop one hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He would call out, “^(A)He who has ears to hear, ^[b]let him hear.”

The Parable of the Sower Explained

^9 (B)And His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. ¹⁰ And He said, “^(C)To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that ^(D)seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

¹¹ “Now the parable is this: ^(E)the seed is the word of God. ¹² And those beside the road are those 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 And those on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no root; ^[c]they believe for a while, and in time of temptation 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 with worries and riches and pleasures of life, and do not bear ripe fruit. ¹⁵ But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with ^[d]perseverance.

A Lampstand and the Light

¹⁶ “Now ^(F)no one after lighting a lamp covers it with a container or puts it under a bed, but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. ^17 (G)For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸ So beware how you listen, ^(H)for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he ^[e]thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”