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Matthew 13:1-23
English Standard Version
Matthew 13:1-23
English Standard Version
The Parable of the Sower
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house (A)and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, (B)so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And (C)he told them many things in parables, saying: (D)“A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but (E)when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, (F)they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among (G)thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some (H)a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 (I)He who has ears,[a] let him hear.”
The Purpose of the Parables
10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, (J)“To you it has been given to know (K)the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 (L)For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, (M)even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because (N)seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, (O)nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:
(P)“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
15 For this people's heart has grown dull,
and with their ears (Q)they can barely hear,
and (R)their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and (S)understand with their heart
and (T)turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But (U)blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 (V)For truly, I say to you, (W)many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
The Parable of the Sower Explained
18 (X)“Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of (Y)the kingdom and (Z)does not understand it, (AA)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately (AB)receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but (AC)endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately (AD)he falls away.[b] 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but (AE)the cares of (AF)the world and (AG)the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and (AH)understands it. He indeed (AI)bears fruit and yields, in one case (AJ)a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 13:9 Some manuscripts add here and in verse 43 to hear
- Matthew 13:21 Or stumbles
Matthew 13:1-23
New International Version
Matthew 13:1-23
New International Version
The Parable of the Sower(A)(B)(C)
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house(D) and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat(E) and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 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. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred,(F) sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”(G)
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(H) has been given to you,(I) 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.(J) 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.(K)
14 In them is fulfilled(L) the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’[a](M)
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.(N) 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see(O) but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom(P) and does not understand it, the evil one(Q) comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.(R) 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth(S) choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”(T)
Footnotes
- Matthew 13:15 Isaiah 6:9,10 (see Septuagint)
Mark 4:3-25
English Standard Version
Mark 4:3-25
English Standard Version
3 “Listen! Behold, (A)a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And (B)when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, (C)it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among (D)thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and (E)a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, (F)“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
The Purpose of the Parables
10 And (G)when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, (H)“To you has been given (I)the secret of the kingdom of God, but for (J)those outside everything is in parables, 12 (K)so that
“‘they (L)may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they (M)should turn and be forgiven.’”
13 (N)And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 (O)The sower sows (P)the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it (Q)with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but (R)endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately (S)they fall away.[a] 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but (T)the cares of (U)the world and (V)the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and (W)bear fruit, (X)thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
A Lamp Under a Basket
21 (Y)And he said to them, (Z)“Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 (AA)For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 (AB)If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: (AC)with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 (AD)For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Mark 4:17 Or stumble
Mark 4:3-25
New International Version
Mark 4:3-25
New International Version
3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.(A) 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.”(B)
9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”(C)
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God(D) has been given to you. But to those on the outside(E) everything is said in parables 12 so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”(F)
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word.(G) 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan(H) comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth(I) and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
A Lamp on a Stand
21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?(J) 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.(K) 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”(L)
24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.(M) 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”(N)
Footnotes
- Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10
Luke 8:5-18
English Standard Version
Luke 8:5-18
English Standard Version
5 (A)“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, (B)it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among (C)thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded (D)a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, (E)“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
The Purpose of the Parables
9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, (F)“To you it has been given to know (G)the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so (H)that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 (I)Now the parable is this: The seed is (J)the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not (K)believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it (L)with joy. But these have no root; they (M)believe for a while, and in time of testing (N)fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but (O)as they go on their way they are choked by the (P)cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and (Q)bear fruit (R)with patience.
A Lamp Under a Jar
16 (S)(T)“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 (U)For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 (V)Take care then how you hear, (W)for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
Read full chapter
Luke 8:5-18
New International Version
Luke 8:5-18
New International Version
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)
9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you,(B) but to others I speak in parables, so that,
11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.(D) 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.(E) 14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches(F) and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
A Lamp on a Stand
16 “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.(G) 17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.(H) 18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.”(I)
Footnotes
- Luke 8:10 Isaiah 6:9
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.