Great Is the Lord

^[a] A Song of Praise. Of David.

Descendants of Reuben

5 The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (^(A)for he was the firstborn, but because ^(B)he defiled his father's couch, ^(C)his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son; ^2 (D)though Judah became strong among his brothers and a ^(E)chief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph), ³ the ^(F)sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. ⁴ The sons of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, ⁵ Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, ⁶ Beerah his son, whom ^(G)Tiglath-pileser^[a] king of Assyria carried away into exile; he was a chief of the Reubenites. ⁷ And his kinsmen by their clans, ^(H)when the genealogy of their generations was recorded: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah, ⁸ and Bela the son of Azaz, son of ^(I)Shema, son of Joel, who lived in ^(J)Aroer, as far as ^(K)Nebo and ^(L)Baal-meon. ⁹ He also lived to the east as far as the entrance of the desert this side of the Euphrates, because their livestock had multiplied ^(M)in the land of Gilead. ¹⁰ And in the days of Saul they waged war against the ^(N)Hagrites, who fell into their hand. And they lived in their tents throughout all the region east of Gilead.

Descendants of Gad

¹¹ The sons of Gad lived over against them in the land of Bashan as far as ^(O)Salecah: ¹² Joel the chief, Shapham the second, Janai, and Shaphat in Bashan. ¹³ And their kinsmen according to their fathers' houses: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia and Eber, seven. ¹⁴ These were the sons of Abihail the son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz. ¹⁵ Ahi the son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was chief in their fathers' houses, ¹⁶ and they lived in Gilead, in Bashan and in its towns, and in all the pasturelands of ^(P)Sharon to their limits. ¹⁷ All of these were recorded in genealogies in the days of ^(Q)Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of ^(R)Jeroboam king of Israel.

¹⁸ The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had valiant men who carried shield and sword, and drew the bow, ^(S)expert in war, 44,760, able to go to war. ¹⁹ They waged war against the ^(T)Hagrites, ^(U)Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. ²⁰ And when they prevailed^[b] over them, the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hands, ^(V)for they cried out to God in the battle, and he granted their urgent plea ^(W)because they trusted in him. ²¹ They carried off their livestock: 50,000 of their camels, 250,000 sheep, 2,000 donkeys, and 100,000 men alive. ²² For many fell, because the war was of God. And they lived ^(X)in their place until ^(Y)the exile.

The Half-Tribe of Manasseh

²³ The members of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land. They were very numerous from Bashan to Baal-hermon, ^(Z)Senir, and Mount Hermon. ²⁴ These were the heads of their fathers' houses: Epher,^[c] Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty warriors, famous men, heads of their fathers' houses. ²⁵ But they broke faith with the God of their fathers, and ^(AA)whored ^(AB)after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. ²⁶ So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of ^(AC)Pul king of Assyria, the spirit of ^(AD)Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he took them into exile, namely, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them ^(AE)to Halah, ^(AF)Habor, Hara, and ^(AG)the river Gozan, to this day.

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:

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.”