The Parable of the
Sower
1Again Jesus began to
teach by
the lake.
The crowd
that
gathered
around him
was so
large that
he got
into a
boat and
sat in it
out on the
lake,
while all
the people
were along
the shore
at the
water’s
edge.
2 He
taught
them many
things by
parables,
and in his
teaching
said:
3 “Listen!
A farmer
went out
to sow his
seed.
4 As
he was
scattering
the seed,
some fell
along the
path, and
the birds
came and
ate it up.
5 Some
fell on
rocky
places,
where it
did not
have much
soil. It
sprang up
quickly,
because
the soil
was
shallow.
6 But when
the sun
came up,
the plants
were
scorched,
and they
withered
because
they had
no root.
7 Other
seed fell
among
thorns,
which grew
up and
choked the
plants, so
that they
did not
bear
grain.
8 Still
other seed
fell on
good soil.
It came
up, grew
and
produced a
crop, some
multiplying
thirty,
some
sixty,
some a
hundred
times.”
9 Then Jesus said,
“Whoever
has ears
to hear,
let them
hear.”
10 When he was alone, the
Twelve and
the others
around him
asked him
about the
parables.
11 He told
them, “The
secret of
the
kingdom of
God has
been given
to you.
But to
those on
the
outside
everything
is said in
parables
12 so
that,
“‘they may be ever seeing
but never
perceiving,
and
ever
hearing
but never
understanding;
otherwise
they might
turn and
be
forgiven!’”
13 Then Jesus said to
them,
“Don’t you
understand
this
parable?
How then
will you
understand
any
parable?
14 The
farmer
sows the
word.
15 Some
people are
like seed
along the
path,
where the
word is
sown. As
soon as
they hear
it, Satan
comes and
takes away
the word
that was
sown in
them.
16 Others,
like seed
sown on
rocky
places,
hear the
word and
at once
receive it
with joy.
17 But
since they
have no
root, they
last only
a short
time. When
trouble or
persecution
comes
because of
the word,
they
quickly
fall away.
18 Still
others,
like seed
sown among
thorns,
hear the
word;
19 but
the
worries of
this life,
the
deceitfulness
of wealth
and the
desires
for other
things
come in
and choke
the word,
making it
unfruitful.
20 Others,
like seed
sown on
good soil,
hear the
word,
accept it,
and
produce a
crop—some
thirty,
some
sixty,
some a
hundred
times what
was sown.”
A Lamp on a Stand
21 He said to them, “Do
you bring
in a lamp
to put it
under a
bowl or a
bed?
Instead,
don’t you
put it on
its stand?
22 For
whatever
is hidden
is meant
to be
disclosed,
and
whatever
is
concealed
is meant
to be
brought
out into
the open.
23 If
anyone has
ears to
hear, let
them
hear.”
24 “Consider carefully
what you
hear,” he
continued.
“With the
measure
you use,
it will be
measured
to you—and
even more.
25 Whoever
has will
be given
more;
whoever
does not
have, even
what they
have will
be taken
from
them.”
The Parable of the
Growing
Seed
26 He also said, “This is
what the
kingdom of
God is
like. A
man
scatters
seed on
the
ground.
27 Night
and day,
whether he
sleeps or
gets up,
the seed
sprouts
and grows,
though he
does not
know how.
28 All by
itself the
soil
produces
grain—first
the stalk,
then the
head, then
the full
kernel in
the head.
29 As soon
as the
grain is
ripe, he
puts the
sickle to
it,
because
the
harvest
has come.”
The Parable of the
Mustard
Seed
30 Again he said, “What
shall we
say the
kingdom of
God is
like, or
what
parable
shall we
use to
describe
it?
31 It
is like a
mustard
seed,
which is
the
smallest
of all
seeds on
earth.
32 Yet
when
planted,
it grows
and
becomes
the
largest of
all garden
plants,
with such
big
branches
that the
birds can
perch in
its
shade.”
33 With many similar
parables
Jesus
spoke the
word to
them, as
much as
they could
understand.
34 He did
not say
anything
to them
without
using a
parable.
But when
he was
alone with
his own
disciples,
he
explained
everything.
Jesus Calms the
Storm
35 That day when evening
came, he
said to
his
disciples,
“Let us go
over to
the other
side.”
36 Leaving
the crowd
behind,
they took
him along,
just as he
was, in
the boat.
There were
also other
boats with
him.
37 A
furious
squall
came up,
and the
waves
broke over
the boat,
so that it
was nearly
swamped.
38 Jesus
was in the
stern,
sleeping
on a
cushion.
The
disciples
woke him
and said
to him,
“Teacher,
don’t you
care if we
drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the
wind and
said to
the waves,
“Quiet! Be
still!”
Then the
wind died
down and
it was
completely
calm.
40 He said to his
disciples,
“Why are
you so
afraid? Do
you still
have no
faith?”
41 They were terrified and
asked each
other,
“Who is
this? Even
the wind
and the
waves obey
him!”