New Testament in a Year

The Parable of the Sower

13 On that day Jesus went out of the house and^[a] was sitting by the sea.^{[b] 2} And large crowds gathered close around him, so that he got into a boat to sit down, and all the crowd was standing on the shore. ³ And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow, ⁴ and while he was sowing, some seed^[c] fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and^[d] devoured it. ⁵ And other seed fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once because it did not have any depth of soil. ⁶ But when^[e] the sun rose it was scorched, and because it did not have enough root, it withered. ⁷ And other seed fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it. ⁸ But other seed fell on the good soil and produced grain,^[f] this one a hundred times as much and this one sixty and this one thirty. ⁹ The one who has ears, let him hear!”

The Reason for the Parables

¹⁰ And the disciples came up and^[g] said to him, “Why^[h] do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And he answered and^[i] said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to those people it has not been granted. ¹² For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ¹³ For this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand, ¹⁴ and with reference to them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says,

¹⁶ But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it,^[m] and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it!^[n]

The Parable of the Sower Interpreted

¹⁸ “You, therefore, listen to the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When^[o] anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it,^[p] the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown on the side of the path. ²⁰ And what was sown on the rocky ground—this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. ²¹ But he does not have a root in himself, but lasts only a little while,^[q] and when^[r] affliction or persecution happens because of the word, immediately he falls away. ²² And what was sown into the thorn plants—this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of this world^[s] and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unproductive. ²³ But what was sown on the good soil—this is the one who hears the word and understands it,^[t] who indeed bears fruit and produces, this one a hundred times as much, and this one sixty, and this one thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat

²⁴ He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while his^[u] people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel^[v] in the midst of the wheat and went away. ²⁶ So when the wheat^[w] sprouted and yielded grain, then the darnel appeared also. ²⁷ So the slaves of the master of the house came and^[x] said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have darnel?’ ²⁸ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So the slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and^[y] gather them?’ ²⁹ But he said, “No, lest when you^[z] gather the darnel you uproot the wheat together with it. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the season of the harvest I will tell the reapers, “First gather the darnel and tie it into bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my storehouse.”’”