³ Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: ^(A)“Behold, a sower went out to sow.

² Then He taught them many things by parables, ^(A)and said to them in His teaching:

³ “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴ And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds ^[a]of the air came and devoured it. ⁵ Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. ⁶ But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. ⁷ And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no ^[b]crop. ⁸ But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

⁹ And He said ^[c]to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Parable of the Sower Explained^(A)

¹³ And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

Prophecy and the Parables

^34 (A)All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, ³⁵ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶ Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. ⁸ But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded ^[a]a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, ^(A)“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”