³ And ^(A)he told them many things in parables, saying: ^(B)“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 ^(C)when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, ^(D)they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among ^(E)thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some ^(F)a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ^9 (G)He who has ears,^[a] let him hear.”

The Parable of the Sower Explained

^18 (A)“Hear then the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of ^(B)the kingdom and ^(C)does not understand it, ^(D)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 ^(E)receives it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but ^(F)endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^(G)he falls away.^{[a] 22} As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ^(H)the cares of ^(I)the world and ^(J)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 ^(K)understands it. He indeed ^(L)bears fruit and yields, in one case ^(M)a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

⁵ What then is Apollos? What is Paul? ^(A)Servants through whom you believed, ^(B)as the Lord assigned to each. ^6 (C)I planted, ^(D)Apollos watered, ^(E)but God gave the growth. ⁷ So ^(F)neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

¹⁶ You will recognize them ^(A)by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ So, ^(B)every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.

¹⁰ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before ^(A)the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”