Parable of the Sower and Soils

4 Again Jesus began to teach beside the sea [of Galilee]. And a very large crowd gathered around Him, so He got into a boat [anchoring it a short distance out] on the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the shore.^{(A) 2} And He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said to them, ³ “Listen! A sower went out to sow seed; ⁴ and as he was sowing, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Other seed fell on rocks where there was not much soil; and immediately a plant sprang up ^[a]because the soil had no depth. ⁶ And when the sun came up, the plant was scorched; and because it had no root, it dried up and withered away. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. ⁸ And other seed fell into good soil, and as the plants grew and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundred times [as much as had been sown].” ⁹ And He said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words.”