Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



He spoke at some length to them in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow, and as he sowed some seeds fell on the road and the birds came and ate them up. Some other seeds fell on stony soil where they had not much earth, and shot up at once because they had no depth of soil; read more.
but when the sun rose they got scorched and withered away because they had no root. Some other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. Some other seeds fell on good soil and bore a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirtyfold.

When anyone hears the word of the Realm and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart; that is the man who is sown 'on the road.' As for him who is sown 'on stony soil,' that is the man who hears the word and accepts it at once with enthusiasm; he has no root in himself, he does not last, but when the word brings trouble or persecution he is at once repelled. read more.
As for him who is sown 'among thorns,' that is the man who listens to the word, but the worry of the world and the delight of being rich choke the word; so it proves unfruitful. As for him who is sown 'on good soil,' that is the man who hears the word and understands it; he bears fruit, producing now a hundredfold, now sixty, and now thirtyfold."

"A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the road and was trampled down, and the wild birds ate it up; some other seed dropped on the rock, but it withered away when it sprang up because it had no moisture; some other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up along with it and choked it; read more.
some other seed fell on sound soil, and springing up bore a crop, a hundredfold." When he said this he called out, "He who has an ear, let him listen to this." The disciples questioned him about the meaning of the parable; so he said, "It is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Reign of God, but the others get it in parables, so that for all their seeing they may not see, and for all their hearing they may not understand. This is what the parable means. The seed is the word of God. Those 'on the road' are people who hear; but then the devil comes and carries off the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. Those 'on the rock' are people who on hearing the word welcome it with enthusiasm, but they have no root; they believe for a while and fall away in the hour of trial. As for the seed that fell among thorns, that means people who hear but who go and get choked with worries and money and the pleasures of life, so that they never ripen. As for the seed in the good soil, that means those who hear and hold fast the word in a good and sound heart and so bear fruit stedfastly.

He spoke at some length to them in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow, and as he sowed some seeds fell on the road and the birds came and ate them up. Some other seeds fell on stony soil where they had not much earth, and shot up at once because they had no depth of soil; read more.
but when the sun rose they got scorched and withered away because they had no root. Some other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. Some other seeds fell on good soil and bore a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirtyfold. He who has an ear, let him listen to this."

Once more he proceeded to teach by the seaside, and a crowd gathered round him greater than ever, so he entered a boat on the sea and sat down, while all the crowd stayed on shore. He gave them many lessons in parables, and said to them in the course of his teaching: "Listen, a sower went out to sow, read more.
and as he sowed it chanced that some seed fell on the road, and the birds came and ate it up; some other seed fell on stony soil where it had not much earth, and it shot up at once because it had no depth of earth, but when the sun rose it got scorched and withered away, because it had no root; some other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked it, so it bore no crop; some other seed fell on good soil and bore a crop that sprang up and grew, yielding at the rate of thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." He added, "Anyone who has ears to hear, let him listen to this." When he was by himself his adherents and the twelve asked him about the parable, and he said to them: "The open secret of the Realm of God is granted to you, but these outsiders get everything by way of parables, so that for all their seeing they may not perceive, and for all their hearing they may not understand, lest they turn and be forgiven." And he said to them, "You do not understand this parable? Then how are you to understand the other parables? The sower sows the word. As for those 'on the road,' when the seed is sown there ??as soon as they hear it, Satan at once comes and carries off the word sown within them. Similarly those who are sown 'on stony soil' are the people who on hearing the word accept it with enthusiasm; but they have no root in themselves, they do not last; the next thing is that when the word brings trouble or persecution, they are at once repelled. Another set are those who are sown 'among thorns'; they listen to the word, but the worries of the world and the delight of being rich and all the other passions come in to choke the word; so it proves unfruitful. As for those who were sown 'on good soil,' these are the people who listen to the word and take it in and bear fruit at the rate of thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

As a large crowd was gathering and as people were resorting to him from town after town, he addressed them in a parable. "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the road and was trampled down, and the wild birds ate it up; some other seed dropped on the rock, but it withered away when it sprang up because it had no moisture; read more.
some other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up along with it and choked it; some other seed fell on sound soil, and springing up bore a crop, a hundredfold." When he said this he called out, "He who has an ear, let him listen to this." The disciples questioned him about the meaning of the parable; so he said, "It is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Reign of God, but the others get it in parables, so that for all their seeing they may not see, and for all their hearing they may not understand. This is what the parable means. The seed is the word of God. Those 'on the road' are people who hear; but then the devil comes and carries off the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. Those 'on the rock' are people who on hearing the word welcome it with enthusiasm, but they have no root; they believe for a while and fall away in the hour of trial. As for the seed that fell among thorns, that means people who hear but who go and get choked with worries and money and the pleasures of life, so that they never ripen. As for the seed in the good soil, that means those who hear and hold fast the word in a good and sound heart and so bear fruit stedfastly.



"A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the road and was trampled down, and the wild birds ate it up; some other seed dropped on the rock, but it withered away when it sprang up because it had no moisture; some other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up along with it and choked it; read more.
some other seed fell on sound soil, and springing up bore a crop, a hundredfold." When he said this he called out, "He who has an ear, let him listen to this." The disciples questioned him about the meaning of the parable; so he said, "It is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Reign of God, but the others get it in parables, so that for all their seeing they may not see, and for all their hearing they may not understand. This is what the parable means. The seed is the word of God. Those 'on the road' are people who hear; but then the devil comes and carries off the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. Those 'on the rock' are people who on hearing the word welcome it with enthusiasm, but they have no root; they believe for a while and fall away in the hour of trial. As for the seed that fell among thorns, that means people who hear but who go and get choked with worries and money and the pleasures of life, so that they never ripen. As for the seed in the good soil, that means those who hear and hold fast the word in a good and sound heart and so bear fruit stedfastly.







A scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you anywhere"; Jesus said to him, "The foxes have their holes, the wild birds have their nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me go and bury my father first of all"; read more.
Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."

Show 5 more verses
When anyone hears the word of the Realm and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart; that is the man who is sown 'on the road.' As for him who is sown 'on stony soil,' that is the man who hears the word and accepts it at once with enthusiasm; he has no root in himself, he does not last, but when the word brings trouble or persecution he is at once repelled. read more.
As for him who is sown 'among thorns,' that is the man who listens to the word, but the worry of the world and the delight of being rich choke the word; so it proves unfruitful.

As for those 'on the road,' when the seed is sown there ??as soon as they hear it, Satan at once comes and carries off the word sown within them. Similarly those who are sown 'on stony soil' are the people who on hearing the word accept it with enthusiasm; but they have no root in themselves, they do not last; the next thing is that when the word brings trouble or persecution, they are at once repelled. read more.
Another set are those who are sown 'among thorns'; they listen to the word, but the worries of the world and the delight of being rich and all the other passions come in to choke the word; so it proves unfruitful.

He said to another man, "Follow me"; but he said, "Let me go and bury my father first of all." Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; you go and spread the news of the Reign of God." Another man also said to him, "I will follow you, Lord. But let me first say good-bye to my people at home." read more.
Jesus said to him, "No one is any use to the Reign of God who puts his hand to the plough and then looks behind him."


Only, let him ask in faith, with never a doubt; for the doubtful man is like surge of the sea whirled and swayed by the wind; that man need not imagine he will get anything from God, double-minded creature that he is, wavering at every turn.

As for him who is sown 'on good soil,' that is the man who hears the word and understands it; he bears fruit, producing now a hundredfold, now sixty, and now thirtyfold." Verse ConceptsFruitfulness, SpiritualFruit, SpiritualFaith, Nature OfAcceptance, Of The GospelThirtySixtiesOne HundredThe Source Of FruitFertile LandLand ProducingHearing God's WordHundredfold Return

As a large crowd was gathering and as people were resorting to him from town after town, he addressed them in a parable. "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the road and was trampled down, and the wild birds ate it up; some other seed dropped on the rock, but it withered away when it sprang up because it had no moisture; read more.
some other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up along with it and choked it; some other seed fell on sound soil, and springing up bore a crop, a hundredfold." When he said this he called out, "He who has an ear, let him listen to this." The disciples questioned him about the meaning of the parable; so he said, "It is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Reign of God, but the others get it in parables, so that for all their seeing they may not see, and for all their hearing they may not understand. This is what the parable means. The seed is the word of God. Those 'on the road' are people who hear; but then the devil comes and carries off the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. Those 'on the rock' are people who on hearing the word welcome it with enthusiasm, but they have no root; they believe for a while and fall away in the hour of trial. As for the seed that fell among thorns, that means people who hear but who go and get choked with worries and money and the pleasures of life, so that they never ripen. As for the seed in the good soil, that means those who hear and hold fast the word in a good and sound heart and so bear fruit stedfastly.

Some other seeds fell on good soil and bore a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirtyfold. Verse ConceptsCropsThirtySixtiesOne HundredFertile LandLand ProducingHundredfold ReturnPlanting SeedsSeedsSowing Seedssowing

Then the disciples came up and said to him, "Why do you speak in parables?" He replied, "Because it is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Realm of heaven, but it is not granted to these people.

When he was by himself his adherents and the twelve asked him about the parable, and he said to them: "The open secret of the Realm of God is granted to you, but these outsiders get everything by way of parables,

The disciples questioned him about the meaning of the parable; so he said, "It is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Reign of God, but the others get it in parables, so that for all their seeing they may not see, and for all their hearing they may not understand.

then poured water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of the disciples, wiping them with the towel he had tied round him. He came to Simon Peter. "Lord," said he, "you to wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "You do not understand just now what I am doing, but you will understand it later on." read more.
Said Peter, "You will never wash my feet, never!" "Unless I wash you," Jesus replied, "you will not share my lot." "Lord," said Simon Peter, "then wash not only my feet but my hands and head."

For this reason I Paul, I whom Jesus has made a prisoner for the sake of you Gentiles ??2 for surely you have heard how the grace of God which was vouchsafed me in your interests has ordered it, how the divine secret was disclosed to me by a revelation (if you read what I have already written briefly about this, you can understand my insight into that secret of Christ read more.
which was not disclosed to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his sacred apostles and prophets by the Spirit), namely, that in Christ Jesus the Gentiles are co-heirs, companions, and co-partners in the Promise.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and seated himself by the seaside; but, as great crowds gathered to him, he entered a boat and sat down, while all the crowd stood on the beach. He spoke at some length to them in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow, read more.
and as he sowed some seeds fell on the road and the birds came and ate them up. Some other seeds fell on stony soil where they had not much earth, and shot up at once because they had no depth of soil; but when the sun rose they got scorched and withered away because they had no root. Some other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. Some other seeds fell on good soil and bore a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirtyfold. He who has an ear, let him listen to this." Then the disciples came up and said to him, "Why do you speak in parables?" He replied, "Because it is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Realm of heaven, but it is not granted to these people. For he who has, to him shall more be given and richly given, but whoever has not, from him shall be taken even what he has. This is why I speak to them in parables, because for all their seeing they do not see and for all their hearing they do not hear or understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled: You will hear and hear but never understand, you will see and see but never perceive. For the heart of this people is obtuse, their ears are heavy of hearing, their eyes they have closed, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they understand with their heart and turn again, and I cure them. But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears, for they hear! I tell you truly, many prophets and good men have longed to see what you see, but they have not seen it; and to hear what you hear, but they have not heard it. Now, listen to the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the Realm and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart; that is the man who is sown 'on the road.' As for him who is sown 'on stony soil,' that is the man who hears the word and accepts it at once with enthusiasm; he has no root in himself, he does not last, but when the word brings trouble or persecution he is at once repelled. As for him who is sown 'among thorns,' that is the man who listens to the word, but the worry of the world and the delight of being rich choke the word; so it proves unfruitful. As for him who is sown 'on good soil,' that is the man who hears the word and understands it; he bears fruit, producing now a hundredfold, now sixty, and now thirtyfold."

Once more he proceeded to teach by the seaside, and a crowd gathered round him greater than ever, so he entered a boat on the sea and sat down, while all the crowd stayed on shore. He gave them many lessons in parables, and said to them in the course of his teaching: "Listen, a sower went out to sow, read more.
and as he sowed it chanced that some seed fell on the road, and the birds came and ate it up; some other seed fell on stony soil where it had not much earth, and it shot up at once because it had no depth of earth, but when the sun rose it got scorched and withered away, because it had no root; some other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked it, so it bore no crop; some other seed fell on good soil and bore a crop that sprang up and grew, yielding at the rate of thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." He added, "Anyone who has ears to hear, let him listen to this." When he was by himself his adherents and the twelve asked him about the parable, and he said to them: "The open secret of the Realm of God is granted to you, but these outsiders get everything by way of parables, so that for all their seeing they may not perceive, and for all their hearing they may not understand, lest they turn and be forgiven." And he said to them, "You do not understand this parable? Then how are you to understand the other parables? The sower sows the word. As for those 'on the road,' when the seed is sown there ??as soon as they hear it, Satan at once comes and carries off the word sown within them. Similarly those who are sown 'on stony soil' are the people who on hearing the word accept it with enthusiasm; but they have no root in themselves, they do not last; the next thing is that when the word brings trouble or persecution, they are at once repelled. Another set are those who are sown 'among thorns'; they listen to the word, but the worries of the world and the delight of being rich and all the other passions come in to choke the word; so it proves unfruitful. As for those who were sown 'on good soil,' these are the people who listen to the word and take it in and bear fruit at the rate of thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." He also said to them, "Is a lamp brought to be placed under a bowl or a bed? Is it not to be placed upon the stand? Nothing is hidden except to be disclosed, nothing concealed except to be revealed. If anyone has an ear to hear, let him listen to this." Also he said to them, "Take care what you hear; the measure you deal out to others will be dealt out to yourselves, and you will receive extra. For he who has, to him shall more be given; while as for him who has not, from him shall be taken even what he has."

As a large crowd was gathering and as people were resorting to him from town after town, he addressed them in a parable. "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the road and was trampled down, and the wild birds ate it up; some other seed dropped on the rock, but it withered away when it sprang up because it had no moisture; read more.
some other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up along with it and choked it; some other seed fell on sound soil, and springing up bore a crop, a hundredfold." When he said this he called out, "He who has an ear, let him listen to this." The disciples questioned him about the meaning of the parable; so he said, "It is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Reign of God, but the others get it in parables, so that for all their seeing they may not see, and for all their hearing they may not understand. This is what the parable means. The seed is the word of God. Those 'on the road' are people who hear; but then the devil comes and carries off the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. Those 'on the rock' are people who on hearing the word welcome it with enthusiasm, but they have no root; they believe for a while and fall away in the hour of trial. As for the seed that fell among thorns, that means people who hear but who go and get choked with worries and money and the pleasures of life, so that they never ripen. As for the seed in the good soil, that means those who hear and hold fast the word in a good and sound heart and so bear fruit stedfastly. No one lights a lamp and hides it under a vessel or puts it below the bed: he puts it on a stand so that those who come in can see the light. For nothing is hidden that shall not be disclosed, nothing concealed that shall not be known and revealed. So take care how you listen; for he who has, to him shall more be given, while as for him who has not, from him shall be taken even what he thinks he has."


Then the disciples came up and said to him, "Why do you speak in parables?" He replied, "Because it is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Realm of heaven, but it is not granted to these people.

When he was by himself his adherents and the twelve asked him about the parable, and he said to them: "The open secret of the Realm of God is granted to you, but these outsiders get everything by way of parables,

The disciples questioned him about the meaning of the parable; so he said, "It is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Reign of God, but the others get it in parables, so that for all their seeing they may not see, and for all their hearing they may not understand.

then poured water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of the disciples, wiping them with the towel he had tied round him. He came to Simon Peter. "Lord," said he, "you to wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "You do not understand just now what I am doing, but you will understand it later on." read more.
Said Peter, "You will never wash my feet, never!" "Unless I wash you," Jesus replied, "you will not share my lot." "Lord," said Simon Peter, "then wash not only my feet but my hands and head."

For this reason I Paul, I whom Jesus has made a prisoner for the sake of you Gentiles ??2 for surely you have heard how the grace of God which was vouchsafed me in your interests has ordered it, how the divine secret was disclosed to me by a revelation (if you read what I have already written briefly about this, you can understand my insight into that secret of Christ read more.
which was not disclosed to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his sacred apostles and prophets by the Spirit), namely, that in Christ Jesus the Gentiles are co-heirs, companions, and co-partners in the Promise.

The disciples questioned him about the meaning of the parable; so he said, "It is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Reign of God, but the others get it in parables, so that for all their seeing they may not see, and for all their hearing they may not understand.

Then the disciples came up and said to him, "Why do you speak in parables?" He replied, "Because it is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Realm of heaven, but it is not granted to these people. For he who has, to him shall more be given and richly given, but whoever has not, from him shall be taken even what he has. read more.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because for all their seeing they do not see and for all their hearing they do not hear or understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled: You will hear and hear but never understand, you will see and see but never perceive. For the heart of this people is obtuse, their ears are heavy of hearing, their eyes they have closed, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they understand with their heart and turn again, and I cure them. But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears, for they hear! I tell you truly, many prophets and good men have longed to see what you see, but they have not seen it; and to hear what you hear, but they have not heard it.

When he was by himself his adherents and the twelve asked him about the parable, and he said to them: "The open secret of the Realm of God is granted to you, but these outsiders get everything by way of parables, so that for all their seeing they may not perceive, and for all their hearing they may not understand, lest they turn and be forgiven."

"A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the road and was trampled down, and the wild birds ate it up; some other seed dropped on the rock, but it withered away when it sprang up because it had no moisture; some other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up along with it and choked it; read more.
some other seed fell on sound soil, and springing up bore a crop, a hundredfold." When he said this he called out, "He who has an ear, let him listen to this." The disciples questioned him about the meaning of the parable; so he said, "It is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Reign of God, but the others get it in parables, so that for all their seeing they may not see, and for all their hearing they may not understand. This is what the parable means. The seed is the word of God. Those 'on the road' are people who hear; but then the devil comes and carries off the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. Those 'on the rock' are people who on hearing the word welcome it with enthusiasm, but they have no root; they believe for a while and fall away in the hour of trial. As for the seed that fell among thorns, that means people who hear but who go and get choked with worries and money and the pleasures of life, so that they never ripen. As for the seed in the good soil, that means those who hear and hold fast the word in a good and sound heart and so bear fruit stedfastly.

He spoke at some length to them in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow, and as he sowed some seeds fell on the road and the birds came and ate them up. Some other seeds fell on stony soil where they had not much earth, and shot up at once because they had no depth of soil; read more.
but when the sun rose they got scorched and withered away because they had no root. Some other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. Some other seeds fell on good soil and bore a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirtyfold. He who has an ear, let him listen to this." Then the disciples came up and said to him, "Why do you speak in parables?" He replied, "Because it is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Realm of heaven, but it is not granted to these people. For he who has, to him shall more be given and richly given, but whoever has not, from him shall be taken even what he has. This is why I speak to them in parables, because for all their seeing they do not see and for all their hearing they do not hear or understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled: You will hear and hear but never understand, you will see and see but never perceive. For the heart of this people is obtuse, their ears are heavy of hearing, their eyes they have closed, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they understand with their heart and turn again, and I cure them. But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears, for they hear! I tell you truly, many prophets and good men have longed to see what you see, but they have not seen it; and to hear what you hear, but they have not heard it. Now, listen to the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the Realm and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart; that is the man who is sown 'on the road.' As for him who is sown 'on stony soil,' that is the man who hears the word and accepts it at once with enthusiasm; he has no root in himself, he does not last, but when the word brings trouble or persecution he is at once repelled. As for him who is sown 'among thorns,' that is the man who listens to the word, but the worry of the world and the delight of being rich choke the word; so it proves unfruitful. As for him who is sown 'on good soil,' that is the man who hears the word and understands it; he bears fruit, producing now a hundredfold, now sixty, and now thirtyfold."

He spoke at some length to them in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow, and as he sowed some seeds fell on the road and the birds came and ate them up. Some other seeds fell on stony soil where they had not much earth, and shot up at once because they had no depth of soil; read more.
but when the sun rose they got scorched and withered away because they had no root. Some other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. Some other seeds fell on good soil and bore a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirtyfold.

"A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the road and was trampled down, and the wild birds ate it up; some other seed dropped on the rock, but it withered away when it sprang up because it had no moisture; some other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up along with it and choked it; read more.
some other seed fell on sound soil, and springing up bore a crop, a hundredfold." When he said this he called out, "He who has an ear, let him listen to this." The disciples questioned him about the meaning of the parable; so he said, "It is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Reign of God, but the others get it in parables, so that for all their seeing they may not see, and for all their hearing they may not understand. This is what the parable means. The seed is the word of God. Those 'on the road' are people who hear; but then the devil comes and carries off the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. Those 'on the rock' are people who on hearing the word welcome it with enthusiasm, but they have no root; they believe for a while and fall away in the hour of trial. As for the seed that fell among thorns, that means people who hear but who go and get choked with worries and money and the pleasures of life, so that they never ripen. As for the seed in the good soil, that means those who hear and hold fast the word in a good and sound heart and so bear fruit stedfastly.

"Listen, a sower went out to sow, and as he sowed it chanced that some seed fell on the road, and the birds came and ate it up; some other seed fell on stony soil where it had not much earth, and it shot up at once because it had no depth of earth, read more.
but when the sun rose it got scorched and withered away, because it had no root; some other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked it, so it bore no crop; some other seed fell on good soil and bore a crop that sprang up and grew, yielding at the rate of thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." He added, "Anyone who has ears to hear, let him listen to this." When he was by himself his adherents and the twelve asked him about the parable, and he said to them: "The open secret of the Realm of God is granted to you, but these outsiders get everything by way of parables, so that for all their seeing they may not perceive, and for all their hearing they may not understand, lest they turn and be forgiven." And he said to them, "You do not understand this parable? Then how are you to understand the other parables? The sower sows the word. As for those 'on the road,' when the seed is sown there ??as soon as they hear it, Satan at once comes and carries off the word sown within them. Similarly those who are sown 'on stony soil' are the people who on hearing the word accept it with enthusiasm; but they have no root in themselves, they do not last; the next thing is that when the word brings trouble or persecution, they are at once repelled. Another set are those who are sown 'among thorns'; they listen to the word, but the worries of the world and the delight of being rich and all the other passions come in to choke the word; so it proves unfruitful. As for those who were sown 'on good soil,' these are the people who listen to the word and take it in and bear fruit at the rate of thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

Now, listen to the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the Realm and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart; that is the man who is sown 'on the road.' As for him who is sown 'on stony soil,' that is the man who hears the word and accepts it at once with enthusiasm; read more.
he has no root in himself, he does not last, but when the word brings trouble or persecution he is at once repelled. As for him who is sown 'among thorns,' that is the man who listens to the word, but the worry of the world and the delight of being rich choke the word; so it proves unfruitful. As for him who is sown 'on good soil,' that is the man who hears the word and understands it; he bears fruit, producing now a hundredfold, now sixty, and now thirtyfold."

So he replied, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed means the sons of the Realm; the weeds are the sons of the evil one;

And he said, "It is with the Realm of God as when a man has sown seed on earth; he sleeps at night and rises by day, and the seed sprouts and shoots up ??he knows not how. (For the earth bears crops by itself, the blade first, the ear of corn next, and then the grain full in the ear.) read more.
But whenever the crop is ready, he has the sickle put in at once, as harvest has come." He said also, "To what can we compare the Realm of God? how are we to put it in a parable? It is like a grain of mustard-seed ??less than any seed on earth when it is sown on earth; but once sown it springs up to be larger than any plant, throwing out such big branches that the wild birds can roost under its shadow."

He spoke at some length to them in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow, and as he sowed some seeds fell on the road and the birds came and ate them up. Some other seeds fell on stony soil where they had not much earth, and shot up at once because they had no depth of soil; read more.
but when the sun rose they got scorched and withered away because they had no root. Some other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. Some other seeds fell on good soil and bore a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirtyfold. He who has an ear, let him listen to this."

Once more he proceeded to teach by the seaside, and a crowd gathered round him greater than ever, so he entered a boat on the sea and sat down, while all the crowd stayed on shore. He gave them many lessons in parables, and said to them in the course of his teaching: "Listen, a sower went out to sow, read more.
and as he sowed it chanced that some seed fell on the road, and the birds came and ate it up; some other seed fell on stony soil where it had not much earth, and it shot up at once because it had no depth of earth, but when the sun rose it got scorched and withered away, because it had no root; some other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked it, so it bore no crop; some other seed fell on good soil and bore a crop that sprang up and grew, yielding at the rate of thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." He added, "Anyone who has ears to hear, let him listen to this." When he was by himself his adherents and the twelve asked him about the parable, and he said to them: "The open secret of the Realm of God is granted to you, but these outsiders get everything by way of parables, so that for all their seeing they may not perceive, and for all their hearing they may not understand, lest they turn and be forgiven." And he said to them, "You do not understand this parable? Then how are you to understand the other parables? The sower sows the word. As for those 'on the road,' when the seed is sown there ??as soon as they hear it, Satan at once comes and carries off the word sown within them. Similarly those who are sown 'on stony soil' are the people who on hearing the word accept it with enthusiasm; but they have no root in themselves, they do not last; the next thing is that when the word brings trouble or persecution, they are at once repelled. Another set are those who are sown 'among thorns'; they listen to the word, but the worries of the world and the delight of being rich and all the other passions come in to choke the word; so it proves unfruitful. As for those who were sown 'on good soil,' these are the people who listen to the word and take it in and bear fruit at the rate of thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

As a large crowd was gathering and as people were resorting to him from town after town, he addressed them in a parable. "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the road and was trampled down, and the wild birds ate it up; some other seed dropped on the rock, but it withered away when it sprang up because it had no moisture; read more.
some other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up along with it and choked it; some other seed fell on sound soil, and springing up bore a crop, a hundredfold." When he said this he called out, "He who has an ear, let him listen to this." The disciples questioned him about the meaning of the parable; so he said, "It is granted you to understand the open secrets of the Reign of God, but the others get it in parables, so that for all their seeing they may not see, and for all their hearing they may not understand. This is what the parable means. The seed is the word of God. Those 'on the road' are people who hear; but then the devil comes and carries off the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. Those 'on the rock' are people who on hearing the word welcome it with enthusiasm, but they have no root; they believe for a while and fall away in the hour of trial. As for the seed that fell among thorns, that means people who hear but who go and get choked with worries and money and the pleasures of life, so that they never ripen. As for the seed in the good soil, that means those who hear and hold fast the word in a good and sound heart and so bear fruit stedfastly.