(3) He used parables to tell them many things. "Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. (4) As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. (5) Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. (6) But when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. (7) Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants. (8) But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants bore grain: some had one hundred grains, others sixty, and others thirty." (9) And Jesus concluded, "Listen, then, if you have ears!"

(19) Those who hear the message about the Kingdom but do not understand it are like the seeds that fell along the path. The Evil One comes and snatches away what was sown in them. (20) The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who receive the message gladly as soon as they hear it. (21) But it does not sink deep into them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once. (22) The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear the message; but the worries about this life and the love for riches choke the message, and they don't bear fruit. (23) And the seeds sown in the good soil stand for those who hear the message and understand it: they bear fruit, some as much as one hundred, others sixty, and others thirty."

(3) "Listen! Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. (4) As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. (5) Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. (6) Then, when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. (7) Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants, and they didn't bear grain. (8) But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants sprouted, grew, and bore grain: some had thirty grains, others sixty, and others one hundred." (9) And Jesus concluded, "Listen, then, if you have ears!"

(14) The sower sows God's message. (15) Some people are like the seeds that fall along the path; as soon as they hear the message, Satan comes and takes it away. (16) Other people are like the seeds that fall on rocky ground. As soon as they hear the message, they receive it gladly. (17) But it does not sink deep into them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once. (18) Other people are like the seeds sown among the thorn bushes. These are the ones who hear the message, (19) but the worries about this life, the love for riches, and all other kinds of desires crowd in and choke the message, and they don't bear fruit. (20) But other people are like seeds sown in good soil. They hear the message, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred."

(4) People kept coming to Jesus from one town after another; and when a great crowd gathered, Jesus told this parable: (5) "Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it up. (6) Some of it fell on rocky ground, and when the plants sprouted, they dried up because the soil had no moisture. (7) Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up with the plants and choked them. (8) And some seeds fell in good soil; the plants grew and bore grain, one hundred grains each." And Jesus concluded, "Listen, then, if you have ears!"

(11) "This is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God. (12) The seeds that fell along the path stand for those who hear; but the Devil comes and takes the message away from their hearts in order to keep them from believing and being saved. (13) The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who hear the message and receive it gladly. But it does not sink deep into them; they believe only for a while but when the time of testing comes, they fall away. (14) The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear; but the worries and riches and pleasures of this life crowd in and choke them, and their fruit never ripens. (15) The seeds that fell in good soil stand for those who hear the message and retain it in a good and obedient heart, and they persist until they bear fruit.