The Parable of the Seed that Grows by Itself

²⁶ And he said, “The kingdom of God is like this: like a man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷ And he sleeps and gets up, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows—he does not know how.^{[a] 28} By itself the soil produces a crop: first the grass, then the head of grain, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹ But when the crop permits, he sends in the sickle right away, because the harvest has come.”