³ Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed.

² He taught them many things by parables,^(A) and in his teaching said: ³ “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.^{(B) 4} As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”^(C)

⁹ Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”^(D)

⁵ “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. ⁶ Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”^(A)

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

¹³ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?

A Prophet Without Honor^(A)

⁵³ When Jesus had finished these parables,^(B) he moved on from there.

³⁴ Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.^{(A) 35} So was fulfilled^(B) what was spoken through the prophet:

¹² Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd;^(A) so they left him and went away.^(B)

¹⁰ The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

¹¹ He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven^(A) has been given to you,^(B) but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.^{(C) 13} This is why I speak to them in parables: