Jesus Explains the Parable about the Farmer^(A)

¹⁸ “Listen, then, to the parable about the farmer. ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word about the kingdom yet doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. ²⁰ As for what was sown on the stony ground, this is the person who hears the word and accepts it joyfully at once, ²¹ but since he doesn’t have any root in himself, he lasts for only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes along because of the word, he immediately falls away. ²² As for what was sown among the thorn bushes, this is the person who hears the word, but the worries of life and the deceitful pleasures of wealth choke the word so that it can’t produce a crop. ²³ But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word, understands it, and produces a crop that yields 100, 60, or 30 times what was sown.”^[a]