Luke 8:11-14
New American Standard Bible
11 “Now this is the parable: (A)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; [a]they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation they [b]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.
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Luke 8:11-14
New English Translation
11 “Now the parable means[a] this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the devil[b] comes and takes away the word[c] from their hearts, so that they may not believe[d] and be saved. 13 Those[e] on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while,[f] but[g] in a time of testing[h] fall away.[i] 14 As for the seed that[j] fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but[k] as they go on their way they are choked[l] by the worries and riches and pleasures of life,[m] and their fruit does not mature.[n]
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- Luke 8:11 tn Grk “is,” but in this context it is clearly giving an explanation of the parable.
- Luke 8:12 sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for the devil here: Matt 13:19 has “the evil one,” while Mark 4:15 has “Satan.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.
- Luke 8:12 sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.
- Luke 8:12 tn The participle πιστεύσαντες (pisteusantes) has been translated as a finite verb here. It may be regarded as an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance. From a logical standpoint the negative must govern both the participle and the finite verb.
- Luke 8:13 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Luke 8:13 sn This time of temporary faith represented by the description believe for a while is presented rather tragically in the passage. The seed does not get a chance to do all it can.
- Luke 8:13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
- Luke 8:13 tn Traditionally, “temptation.” Such a translation puts the emphasis on temptation to sin rather than testing of faith, which is what the context seems to indicate.
- Luke 8:13 sn Fall away. On the idea of falling away and the warnings against it, see 2 Tim 3:1; Heb 3:12; Jer 3:14; Dan 9:9.
- Luke 8:14 tn Grk “What”; the referent (the seed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Luke 8:14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
- Luke 8:14 sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.
- Luke 8:14 sn On warnings about the dangers of excessive material attachments, described here as the worries and riches and pleasures of life, see Luke 12:12-21; 16:19-31.
- Luke 8:14 tn The verb τελεσφορέω (telesphoreō) means “to produce mature or ripe fruit” (L&N 23.203). Once again the seed does not reach its goal.
Luke 8:11-14
King James Version
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
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