³ ‘Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.

⁹ Then Jesus said, ‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.’

¹² so that,

¹⁵ Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. ¹⁶ Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. ¹⁷ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ¹⁸ Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ¹⁹ but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²⁰ Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop – some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.’

²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.’

²⁴ ‘Consider carefully what you hear,’ he continued. ‘With the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even more.

³³ With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.