Matthew 13:1-23

The Parable of the Sower

1That same day Jesus went out of the house ^aand sat beside the sea. 2And great crowds gathered about him, ^bso that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3And ^che told them many things in parables, saying: ^d“A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6but ^ewhen the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, ^fthey withered away. 7Other seeds fell among ^gthorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some ^ha hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 ⁱHe who has ears, ▼

▼Some manuscripts add here and in verse 43 to hear

let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

10Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11And he answered them, ^k“To you it has been given to know ^lthe secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 ^mFor to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, ⁿeven what he has will be taken away. 13This is why I speak to them in parables, because ^oseeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, ^pnor do they understand. 14Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

^q“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
15For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears ^rthey can barely hear,
and ^stheir eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and ^tunderstand with their heart
and ^uturn, and I would heal them.’
16But ^vblessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 ^wFor truly, I say to you, ^xmany 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 ^y“Hear then the parable of the sower: 19When anyone hears the word of ^zthe kingdom and ^aadoes not understand it, ^abthe evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately ^acreceives it with joy, 21yet he has no root in himself, but ^adendures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^aehe falls away. ▼

▼Or stumbles

22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ^agthe cares of ^ahthe world and ^aithe deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and ^ajunderstands it. He indeed ^akbears fruit and yields, in one case ^ala hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Matthew 13:31-32

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

31He put another parable before them, saying, ^am“The kingdom of heaven is like ^ana grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

Luke 8:4-18

The Parable of the Sower

4 ^aoAnd when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 ^ap“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, ^aqit withered away, because it had no moisture. 7And some fell among ^arthorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded ^asa hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, ^at“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

9And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10he said, ^au“To you it has been given to know ^avthe secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so ^awthat ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 ^axNow the parable is this: The seed is ^aythe word of God. 12The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not ^azbelieve and be saved. 13And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it ^bawith joy. But these have no root; they ^bbbelieve for a while, and in time of testing ^bcfall away. 14And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but ^bdas they go on their way they are choked by the ^becares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and ^bfbear fruit ^bgwith patience.

A Lamp Under a Jar

16 ^bh, ^bi“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 ^bjFor nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 ^bkTake care then how you hear, ^blfor to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”