The Parable of the Sower^(A)

4 Again He began to teach by the seaside. A large crowd was gathered before Him, so that He entered a boat and sat in it on the sea. And the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. ² He taught them many things in parables and said to them in His teaching: ³ “Listen! And take note: A sower went out to sow. ⁴ As he sowed, some seed fell beside the path, and the birds of the air came and devoured it. ⁵ Some seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and soon it sprang up because it did not have deep soil. ⁶ But when the sun rose, it was scorched. And because it had no root, it withered away. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. ⁸ And other seed fell on good ground, and it yielded grain that sprang up and increased by thirty, sixty, or a hundred times as much.”

⁹ Then He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”