The Parable of the Sower Explained

13 Then(A) he said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable?(B) How then will you understand all of the parables? 14 The sower sows(C) the word.(D) 15 Some are like the word sown on the path.(E) When they hear, immediately Satan(F) comes and takes away the word(G) sown in them.[a] 16 And others are like seed sown on rocky ground. When they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy.(H) 17 But they have no root; they are short-lived. When distress(I) or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately fall away.(J) 18 Others are like seed sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word, 19 but the worries(K) of this age,(L) the deceitfulness[b](M) of wealth,(N) and the desires(O) for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.(P) 20 And those like seed sown on good ground hear the word,(Q) welcome it, and produce fruit(R) thirty, sixty, and a hundred times what was sown.”

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Footnotes

  1. 4:15 Other mss read in their hearts
  2. 4:19 Or seduction

13 “Don’t you understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? 14 The farmer scatters the word. 15 This is the meaning of the seed that fell on the path: When the word is scattered and people hear it, right away Satan comes and steals the word that was planted in them. 16 Here’s the meaning of the seed that fell on rocky ground: When people hear the word, they immediately receive it joyfully. 17 Because they have no roots, they last for only a little while. When they experience distress or abuse because of the word, they immediately fall away. 18 Others are like the seed scattered among the thorny plants. These are the ones who have heard the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the false appeal of wealth, and the desire for more things break in and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. 20 The seed scattered on good soil are those who hear the word and embrace it. They bear fruit, in one case a yield of thirty to one, in another case sixty to one, and in another case one hundred to one.”

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