Matthew 13:3-23

Legacy Standard Bible

³ And He spoke many things to them in ^(A)parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴ and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵ And others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. ⁶ But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ And others fell ^[a]among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. ⁸ And others fell on the good soil and were yielding ^[b]a crop, some a ^(B)hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. ^9 (C)He who has ears, ^[c]let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰ And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And ^[d]Jesus answered and said to them, “^(D)To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ^12 (E)For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. ¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while ^(F)seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

^16 (I)But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I say to you that ^(J)many prophets and righteous men desired 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 “^(K)Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ When anyone hears ^(L)the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, ^(M)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. ²⁰ And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he ^[h](N)falls away. ²² And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the worry of ^(O)the ^[i]world and the ^(P)deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²³ And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some ^(Q)a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”